Ki Bo-bae facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ki Bo-bae

Ki at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Nationality	South Korean
Born	February 20, 1988 (1988-02-20) (age 37) Anyang, South Korea
Education	Gwangju Women's University
Height	167 cm
Weight	57 kg
Sport
Sport	Archery
Event(s)	Recurve archery
Coached by	Park Chae-soon
Medal record Women's recurve archery Representing  South Korea Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 0 1 World Championships 5 0 2 World Cup Final 3 0 1 Asian Games 1 0 0 Universiade 5 1 0 Total 17 1 4 Event 1st 2nd 3rd Women's individual 7 0 2 Women's team 5 1 2 Mixed team 5 0 0 Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Individual Gold 2012 London Team Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro Individual World Championships Gold 2011 Turin Mixed team Gold 2013 Belek Team Gold 2013 Belek Mixed team Gold 2015 Copenhagen Individual Gold 2015 Copenhagen Mixed team Bronze 2011 Turin Team Bronze 2015 Copenhagen Team World Cup Final Gold 2012 Tokyo Individual Gold 2016 Odense Individual Gold 2017 Rome Individual Bronze 2010 Edinburgh Individual Asian Games Gold 2010 Guangzhou Team Asian Championships Gold 2017 Dhaka Team Bronze 2017 Dhaka Individual Universiade Gold 2011 Shenzhen Individual Gold 2011 Shenzhen Team Gold 2011 Shenzhen Mixed team Gold 2015 Gwangju Individual Gold 2015 Gwangju Mixed team Silver 2015 Gwangju Team

Ki Bo-bae (Hangul: 기보배; born February 20, 1988) is a famous South Korean archer. She is known for using a recurve bow. Ki Bo-bae has won three Olympic gold medals.

She won two gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. These were for the women's team and individual events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, she won another gold medal with her team. She also earned a bronze medal in the individual competition. With four Olympic medals, she is one of the most successful archers in Olympic history.

Ki Bo-bae started archery in primary school. By 2010, she was part of the South Korean national team. Besides the Olympics, she has won gold medals at the World Archery Championships. She became the women's recurve world champion in 2015. She also won at the Asian Games and the Summer Universiade. She has won the Archery World Cup finals three times. From 2015 to 2017, she held the world record for the women's 72-arrow round. She was also ranked the world's number one female archer twice.

Early Life and Interests

Ki Bo-bae was born on February 20, 1988. She discovered archery when she was eleven years old. Her primary school offered it as a sport.

In 2015, Ki was a student at Gwangju Women's University. This allowed her to compete in the 2015 Summer Universiade. In 2017, she was working on a higher degree. She is interested in helping athletes with disabilities. She also wants to teach disabled children. Ki hopes to join the International Olympic Committee. This would allow her to help South Korea host future Summer Olympics.

Ki announced her marriage in September 2017. This was after winning her third Archery World Cup. She got married two months later. Ki also carried the torch for the 2018 Winter Olympics torch relay.

Archery Career Highlights

Starting Her Journey: 2010-2011

Ki was chosen for the South Korean archery team in 2010. She competed at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. She won a gold medal in the women's team event. Her team beat China in the final.

In 2011, she won another team gold medal at the Archery World Cup. She also earned a silver medal in the individual competition. Later, she won her first mixed team title at the 2011 World Archery Championships.

Becoming an Olympic Champion: 2012 London

Ki (left) celebrating her 2012 gold medal win in the women's team event with Lee Sung-jin (center) and Choi Hyeon-ju (right).

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London was Ki's first time at the Olympics. She scored 671 points in the first round. This tied her for the top spot in the women's individual event. She was ranked first because more of her arrows hit the center. Her team also earned the top spot for the women's team competition.

Ki and her teammates won the women's team event. They had a close win against China. This was South Korea's seventh straight Olympic gold in this event. Ki shot the final arrow that secured their victory.

She won her second gold medal in the women's individual event. She beat Aída Román from Mexico in a very close final. They tied, so they had a one-arrow shoot-off. Both shot into the 8-ring. Ki's arrow was closer to the center, so she won the gold.

Ki was the only South Korean woman archer to win two medals in London. After her win, she apologized for her final arrow. She said, "Koreans do not shoot eights." She also shared that she was praying during Román's shot.

Outside the Olympics, Ki did very well in the 2012 Archery World Cup. She won gold medals in both team and individual events. She also won the final stage in Tokyo.

Taking a Break and Setting Records: 2013-2015

In 2013, Ki won two gold medals at the 2013 World Archery Championships. She won her second mixed team title. She also helped her team win the women's team title.

Ki was not chosen for the national team in 2014. This was because she did not shoot well in the trials. It was the first time in four years she wasn't on the team. She later said she had "relaxed too much" during the trials. Watching the Asian Games motivated her to return. Her absence meant she lost her top ranking in the world.

In 2015, Ki returned to the national team. She finished first in the national trials. At the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, she set two new world records. She scored 686 points in the 72-arrow round. This broke an eleven-year-old record. Her team also set a new world record. Ki then won the individual gold medal. She also won gold in the mixed team event.

Ki won two more gold medals at the 2015 World Archery Championships. She won her third mixed team gold. She also won the women's individual recurve final. By August, she was back at the top of the World Archery Rankings.

Another Olympic Gold: 2016-2017

Ki was the only archer from the 2012 Olympic team to return for the 2016 Summer Olympics. She was expected to win gold in both individual and team events. Winning would make her the first archer to defend an individual Olympic title. It would also tie her with Kim Soo-nyung's four Olympic golds. Ki finished third in the ranking round. Her teammates finished first and second. This gave the team the top seed.

Ki, Chang, and Choi won the women's team event. They beat Russia in the final. This was Ki's third Olympic gold medal. It was also South Korea's eighth straight women's team title. Ki said they felt a lot of pressure. But their strong teamwork helped them win.

Ki's goal to defend her individual title ended in the semi-finals. Her teammate Chang Hye-jin beat her. Ki then won the bronze medal. She beat Alejandra Valencia from Mexico.

Ki won her second Archery World Cup title in 2016. She won her third World Cup title in 2017.

See also

In Spanish: Ki Bo Bae para niños

• List of Olympic medalists in archery
• Korean archery