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Rio Olympics Wrap Up, S. Korea Finishes 8th

[News] l 2016-08-22

Anchor: The world’s biggest sporting event that lit up the flamboyant Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro over the past 17 days has come to an end with a closing ceremony on Sunday. Team Korea has achieved the goal of a top ten finish at its fourth consecutive Olympics, but failed to reach its 10 gold medal target.
Our Moon Gwang-lip reports.
 
Report:
[Sound bite: 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony] 
 
The Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics closed its 17-day run with a closing ceremony at 8 p.m. Sunday, local time.

The first Olympics in South America went by smoother than expected without any major security threats or disruptions.

The Rio Olympics’ spirit of protecting the environment and preserving the eco-system, which was manifested during its opening ceremony, was emphasized again during the closing ceremony at Maracana stadium.

Wrestler Kim Hyun-woo, who won bronze in the men’s Greco-Roman 75-kilogram division, was the flag-bearer for Team Korea during the ceremony.

The country has met its goal of another top ten finish at an Olympics by finishing eighth in the medal standings with nine gold, three silver and nine bronze.

It is the fourth consecutive time South Korea achieved a top ten finish at a Summer Games, after finishing ninth at Athens, seventh at Beijing and fifth at London.

However, Team Korea failed to claim a double-digit gold medal tally for the first time in 12 years. Athletes in judo, wrestling and badminton, who were the favorites to win the respective events at Rio, suffered upset defeats. South Korea won nine gold medals at Athens, while it raked in 13 gold medals both at Beijing and London.

In the sporting events, South Korean golfer Park In-bee brought home the ninth gold medal by winning the first women's golf competition at the Olympics since 1900.  

Park carded a five-under 66 on the final day on Saturday, defeating world No. one Lydia Ko by five shots.
The biggest booster for Team Korea at Rio was archery, where the country made a historic gold sweep.

All of the country’s five Taekwondo athletes also won medals, including two golds, as well as a gold each in fencing and shooting.

South Korea’s men’s football team achieved the unprecedented feat of advancing to the last eight for a second straight Olympics, but eventually lost to Honduras 1-0 at the quarterfinals. 

The women’s volleyball team, led by the world’s top attacker Kim Yeon-koung, also earned a berth to the quarters despite insufficient assistance from the Korea Volleyball Association.

Pundits say Team Korea will have to diversify its strategic programs and enhance its fundamentals in order to gain a better result at the next Olympics in Tokyo. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. finished first place for a second time in a row with 46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze. Great Britain finished second with 27 gold and China came third with 26 gold.
Moon Gwang-lip, KBS World Radio News.

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