Tag: Olympics

Picture of the Day: South Korea’s First Medal of Rio Olympics

Judoka gets S. Korea's 1st medal in Rio

South Korean judoka Jeong Bo-kyeong bites her silver medal as she stands on the podium during the medal ceremony for the women’s under-48kg at the 31st Summer Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 2 in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 5, 2016. Jeong won silver for South Korea’s first medal at the Rio Games. She lost to Paula Pareto of Argentina in the final. (Yonhap)

North Korea Has 31 Athletes Competing in the Rio Olympics

It seems to me that if the South Africans were banned from the Olympics because of their Apartheid policies than why is North Korea with its far worse human rights violations allowed in the Olympics?:

North Korea made a restrained, orderly entrance at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Friday.

The North Korean delegation, with male weightlifter Choe Jon-wi as its flagbearer, marched into Maracana Stadium as the 156th country in the “Parade of Nations” as per the Portuguese alphabet.

Choe was followed by Yun Song-bom, the chef de mission, and several other members trailed them, waving their national flag.

They weren’t carrying mobile phones or camcorders to capture the moment, as most other athletes or officials did.

Choe Ryong-hae, the powerful vice chairman of Pyongyang’s State Affairs Commission, rose from his seat to greet the delegation.

North Korea has 31 athletes competing in nine sports here, including weightlifting and judo. It won four golds at the 2012 London Olympics, three from weightlifting, and finished 20th place overall in the medal standing.  [Yonhap]

 

Park Tae-hwan Suspended and Out of the Next Olympics for Doping

Not only is he out of the next Olympics, but I have to imagine this will kill his endorsement deals which have to be worth a lot of money in Korea:

rok flag

Former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan was suspended 18 months for doping.

In a doping hearing session in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, the world swimming governing body FINA handed down Park the ban for being tested positive for testosterone in a drug test in September.

The punishment will expire on March 2, 2016, giving the 26-year-old a chance to swim at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

However, the Korean Olympic Committee prohibits an athlete whose suspension expired less than three years before the Olympics from representing the country

FINA added that Park’s results from Sept. 3 will be annulled and prize money will be forfeited, meaning he will have to return the one silver and five bronzes he won at last year’s Asian Games.  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link.