The Summer Olympics in Tokyo wrapped up on Sunday with Korea ranking 16th in terms of medals won. Korea won six gold, four silver and 10 bronze medals, failing to achieve its aim of finishing in the top 10 due to poor performances in its traditionally strong disciplines.
Korea first participated in the Olympics in London in 1948, and remained between 20th and 40th place until it climbed to 19th in Montreal in 1976. Since then, Korea consistently finished in the top 10, except for a 12th-place finish in Sydney in 2000.
Korea had expected to win one or two gold medals in taekwondo and shooting, but did not win any. It was the first time the home of taekwondo failed to dominate the traditional martial art since it became an official sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It is a sign that taekwondo has become a truly global sport, but also means Korea's hold on the sport is weakening.
Korea also failed to redeem its reputation in judo and wrestling. For two consecutive Olympics, Korea was unable to win a gold medal, with no medals won in wrestling for the first time since Munich in 1972. Baseball and women's golf, in which Korea won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, did not produce any medals, either.
Lee Ki-heung, the head of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, said, "Despite falling shy of their aim, all the Korean athletes did their best under adverse circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic."
Meanwhile, the U.S. topped the medal table with 39 gold medals. It added three gold medals on the last day of the Olympics to edge China, which won 38 gold medals. The U.S. was also on top in terms of total number of medals won with 113, including 41 silver and 33 bronze medals. China was a distant runner-up with 88, including 32 silver and 18 bronze medals.
