PARIS - The main delegation from South Korea for the Paris Olympics has landed in the French capital, with the team looking forward to competing and aiming to exceed their set medal goals.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the group, comprising 30 athletes and 18 officials, touched down at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Saturday night after a journey of over 14 hours from South Korea. Gu Bon-gil, a two-time Olympic champion in men's sabre fencing and the flag bearer, led the team. The Olympics are set to officially commence this Friday with an opening ceremony, although some sports will see preliminary rounds earlier.
South Korea's team, consisting of 143 athletes participating in 21 sports, marks the smallest Summer Olympic delegation since 1976. The KSOC has set a target of five gold medals, which would be the nation's lowest gold medal count at a Summer Games since the same year. Lee Kee-heung, President of the KSOC, expressed confidence in the athletes, emphasizing their hard work and the collective ambition to surpass the modest medal projections.
Several athletes, including those in badminton, shooting, archery, swimming, judo, and artistic gymnastics, have already begun their training in Paris. The KSOC has established a dedicated training facility, the "Team Korea Paris Platform," at the National Sports Center for Defense (CNSD) in Fontainebleau, approximately an hour from Paris, which currently accommodates about 130 athletes and staff members. The facility will soon also host the fencing team. Athletes competing in artistic swimming, diving, taekwondo, and equestrian are expected to arrive later in the week.
South Korea is set to start its official Olympic activities with archery ranking rounds and a women's handball preliminary match against Germany on Thursday.