South Korean sabre fencer Oh Sang-uk (28, world-ranked 4th) made the national anthem of Korea resound in the Grand Palais of Paris, the birthplace of fencing.
On July 27 (local time), Oh Sang-uk won the gold medal in the men’s sabre individual at the 2024 Paris Olympics by defeating Tunisia’s Fares Ferjani (world-ranked 14th) 15-11 in the final. This victory marks Oh’s second Olympic gold medal, having been part of the gold medal-winning team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a surprising turn of events where many top-ranked fencers were eliminated, Oh emerged as the best fencer.
This is the first time a South Korean fencer has won a gold medal in the sabre individual. Previously, Kim Jung-hwan won bronze medals at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
With this gold medal, Oh Sang-uk has achieved a Grand Slam. A Grand Slam consists of winning the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Games, and Asian Championships. Oh had previously won the individual titles at the 2019 World Fencing Championships, the 2022 Asian Games, and the 2019 and 2024 Asian Fencing Championships. This makes him the first Korean fencer, male or female, to achieve this feat.
Oh Sang-uk, the second of three brothers, began fencing in the sixth grade, following his older brother Oh Sang-min (30). All three brothers are over 185 cm tall, but Oh Sang-uk, despite being the tallest, was initially much smaller than his older brother. He was only a bit over 160 cm tall until his first year of middle school but grew to 187 cm by the time he entered high school, eventually surpassing 190 cm in his first year of high school.
His brother Oh Sang-min said, “In his early years, Sang-uk compensated for his smaller size with faster footwork and intensive basic training focused on speed. Then, he suddenly grew taller, combining physical strength and speed to become a formidable athlete.”
In 2014, Oh Sang-uk became the first high school student to join the South Korean national sabre team, proving his potential early on. Utilizing his long reach (205 cm) and legs for deep thrusts and slashes, he dominated the 2018-2019 seasons, ranking number one for two consecutive years and establishing himself as the world’s top fencer. He is skilled in both offense and defense, rarely conceding points even when on the defensive. Western fencers, impressed by his prowess, dubbed him “the monster.”
Despite contracting COVID-19 before the Tokyo Olympics, which caused him to lose over 7 kg, he played a crucial role in the team event, winning gold alongside teammates Kim Jung-hwan, Gu Bon-gil, and Kim Jun-ho. However, in the individual event, he suffered a controversial defeat in the quarterfinals against Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze, losing 13-15 and leaving a sense of unfinished business.
Oh faced numerous challenges leading up to the Paris Olympics. In December 2022, he ruptured ligaments in his right ankle during a practice match, completely tearing two ligaments and severely damaging a third. After a tough recovery process, he made a strong comeback by winning both individual and team events at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. Early this year, he injured a ligament in his right wrist, requiring a cast and preventing him from training for a while.
Before entering the Jincheon National Training Center to prepare for the Olympics, Oh told The Chosun Ilbo, “There were times when my attacks didn’t work, and I would just keep trying harder. Recently, when my attacks are blocked, I think about targeting a different spot. My brother told me to stop avoiding challenges and return to my original self, which woke me up.”
Reinvigorated, Oh won both individual and team titles at the Asian Championships in June, easing his path to Paris. At the historic Grand Palais, he achieved the Grand Slam and cemented his status as the world’s top sabre fencer.
“I wanted to be a fencer people think of when they think of fencing. Now, my dream is bigger. I hope to be one of the names people think of when they think of sports,” said Oh Sang-uk, who has now joined the ranks of South Korea’s sports legends.
