Korea’s superhumans aim to continue success at Paris Paralympics

A total of 83 Korean Paralympians will begin their quest for a medal in Paris when the competition starts Wednesday, joining more than 4,400 athletes from around the world for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games. Here's how the team lines up.

Clockwise from top left: Shooter Kim Jung-nam, badminton player Yu Soo-young, goalball player Seo Min-ji, canoer Choi Yong-beom, table tennis player Yoon Ji-yu, taekwondo practitioner Joo Jeong-hun and wheelchair fencer Cho Eun-hye pose in a promotional photo. [KOREA PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE]

A total of 83 Korean Paralympians will begin their quest for a medal in Paris when the competition starts Wednesday, joining more than 4,400 athletes from around the world for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

Korea ended the Paris Olympics two weeks ago with 13 gold, nine silver and 10 bronze medals, landing in eighth place on the medal table. The Paris Games not only marked a significant improvement on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but also saw several Korean athletes gain global fame with their performance both in and out of the arena.

But while the medal count is on the rise, the Korea Olympic story in recent years has shifted from win, win, win, to celebrating the perseverance and skill of the individual athletes and their commitment and dedication.

If perseverance, skill, commitment and dedication are what Korean sport fans want, look no further than the Paralympics, where Team Korea’s superhuman athletes will defy overwhelming odds, personal tragedy and unbelievable obstacles to fly the flag for their country.

Korea will compete in 17 of 22 Paralympic sports, skipping only blind football, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, cycling track and equestrian. With events divided not only by gender and weight class, but also by level and type of impairment, a total of 549 medal events will be contested in Paris.

Paralympic events are broken down into different sport classes, represented by a letter and number combination, and these act as athlete classifications. Sport classes differ per sport, but the letter generally refers to the sport, i.e. S for swimming, and the number to the severity of the impairment. The lower the number, the greater the impairment.

In swimming there are three letter classes for three classes — S for swimming, SB for swimming breaststroke and SM for swimming multi — and 14 impairment classes, with 1-10 being physical impairments of varying severity, 11-13 vision impairments and 14 intellectual impairment.

A similar system applies across all sports, although the nature of the event can limit the number of sport classes. Judo, which is only open to visually impaired athletes, has just three: B1-3.

No new sports have been added to the Paralympics roster in Paris, but the International Paralympic Committee has kept both badminton and taekwondo, added for Tokyo 2020. The continuation of both sports is good news for Korea, having claimed a bronze in taekwondo and three silvers and a bronze in badminton in Tokyo.

Team Korea finished the Tokyo Games with two gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals, a significant drop from previous years and one the team will be looking to remedy this year.

The Korea JoongAng Daily will report on all the action at the 2024 Paralympic Games in the "Olympic Sports" section on the Korea JoongAng Daily website. Below is a preview of the 17 sports that Korea will compete in and the Paralympians hoping to bring home gold from Paris.

Archery

Korea’s archery prowess extends to the Paralympics, where it ranks at third on the all-time medal table with 16 golds. Recent tournaments have been difficult for the team, however, with no medals in Tokyo and one silver and two bronze at the 2016 Rio Games. Korea last took gold in archery at London 2012.

Archery is one of the oldest paralympic sports, having taken place at every Games since the first Paralympics in 1960, and even before that at the Stoke Mandeville Games, the predecessor to the Paralympics, from 1948.

Six archers, four women and two men have qualified to compete in Paris. Veteran archer Kim Ok-geum, 64, will return for her third Games as she looks for a repeat of her Rio silver medal.

Kim Ok-geum, left, competes in the W1 mixed doubles at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 26, 2023. [YONHAP]

Athletics

As with the Olympics, athletics is the heart of the Paralympics, with 164 medal events across three general disciplines: Track, field and marathon.

Also like at the Olympics, Korea has very little presence in Paralympic athletics. Two Koreans will hunt for some silverware on the track, where the variety of events include the use of guide runners for athletes with visual impairments, prostheses for runners with physical impairments and wheelchairs.

Both Jeon Min-jae and Yoo Byoung-hoon will return for their fifth Paralympics in Paris. Jeon will compete in the women’s 100 and 200 meters, while Yoo will race in the men’s 100, 400 and 800 meters, as well as the marathon.

The veteran pair are joined this year by 26-year-old Jung Ji-song, attending his first Paralympics to compete in the men’s shot put.

Jeon Min-jae competes in the women's 200-meter T36 final at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 23, 2023. [YONHAP]

Badminton Badminton made its Paralympic debut in Tokyo and Korea cashed in with three silver and a bronze medal for seventh place on the admittedly brief all-time medal table. Athletes are divided into six classes, two wheelchair classes and four standing classes.

All of Korea’s medals in Tokyo came from wheelchair badminton, but only one of the three medalists returns in Paris: Two-time Paralympic silver medalist Kim Jung-jun.

The seven member Korean squad in Paris will still overwhelmingly focus on the wheelchair disciplines, with Shin Kyung-hwan returning for his second Paralympics as Korea’s sole standing player.

Shin Kyung-hwan competes at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. [SHIN KYUNG-HWAN]

Boccia

Korea’s veteran boccia players will be looking for the country’s 11th gold medal in the sport. Korea is a boccia powerhouse, and has won gold at the last nine Paralympics, starting with the 1988 Seoul Games.

One of two sports that are unique to the Paralympics, boccia is similar to the winter Olympic sport of curling in that players throw six balls at a white target ball called the jack, and the team, pair or individual that finishes the ball closest to the jack scores at each end.

There are a total of seven events depending on physical impairment and number of players. Six Koreans will compete in boccia in Paris, two each in the BC1, BC2 and BC3 sport classes.

Boccia athlete Jung So-young competes at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 25, 2023. [YONHAP]

Canoe

Korea will send its first ever athlete to compete in Paralympic canoeing: 27-year-old Choi Yong-beom.

Choi earned his spot at the Paralympics after finishing in seventh place at the world championships in May this year, just 10 months after taking up the sport. A canoer since middle school, Choi lost his leg in a car accident in March 2022 and took up Paralympic canoeing in July last year.

There are six paralympic sports classes, three for kayak and three for va’a boat, a small boat with an outrigger to help with stability. Choi competes in the KL3 sport class.

Choi Yong-beom poses for a picture after earning Korea's first ever canoe berth at the Paralympics in Hungary on May 11, 2024. [YONHAP]

Cycling road

Two Korea cyclists will be competing in the road racing events at the 2020 Tokyo Games, with a total of 34 gold medals available across all distances and classes.

Though the first cyclist to reach the finish line wins the race, other specifics like the distance of race events are determined by class and sometimes when different classes compete with each other, officials calculate the results again factoring in the impairments.

Rio Paralympics silver medalist Lee Do-yeon will be returning for her fourth Paralympics, having competed in Rio and Tokyo and also in a number of cross-country skiing races at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics.

Lee is joined by Kim Yong-ki, who makes his Paralympic debut in the T1 class for athletes with severe locomotive dysfunctions.

Lee Do-yeon competes at the 2022 Hanghzhou Para Asian Games in Chun'an, China on Oct. 26, 2023. [YONHAP]

Goalball

Like boccia, goalball is a sport that exists exclusively in the Paralympic world. Originally invented in 1946 for World War II veterans that had lost their sight, goalball has been a Paralympic sport for the visually impaired and blind since 1976.

Goalball is played by two teams of three players on the same size court as volleyball. Teams roll a ball containing bells at high speeds toward a court-wide goal, with defending players throwing themselves in front of the ball in an attempt to stop it. Each game is played over two 12-minute halves and spectators have to stay completely silent.

Korea has only sent a goalball team to the Games three times: In 1988, 2004 and 2012, when they finished in fifth place. This year’s women’s squad arrive in Paris after taking bronze at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

The Korean women's goalball team compete in the bronze medal match at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 27, 2023. [NEWS1]

Judo

Korea first medaled in judo at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics and has not missed out on a medal ever since.

This time around, Team Korea is sending a two-man team. Veteran judoka Lee Min-jae makes a comeback in the -60 kilograms for his third Paralympics after missing Tokyo, alongside Paralympic rookie Kim Dong-hoon in the -73 kilograms.

Judo at the Paralympics is exclusively for visually impaired athletes, with three sight classes within each weight category.

Unlike other judo contests, judokas competing at the Paralympics have to grip their opponent’s uniform before the match starts and must hold on until it is finished.

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is, rather appropriately, another sport that Korea is strong in, winning seven gold, eight silver and five bronze medals to sit fifth on the overall medal table.

Powerlifting tests upper body strength as athletes lie on their backs in a bench press position to lift weights.

The sport is open to a variety of impairments, with athletes needing to be able to raise their arms within 20 degrees of fully extended for the lift to count. Like in the Olympics, athletes compete in different weight categories and are not separated into different sport classes based on impairment.

Korea is sending four powerlifters to Paris, two men and two women. Kim Hyeong-hui is the only returning Paralympian of the group, having also competed in Tokyo and Rio.

Rowing

Rowing is a relatively recent addition to the Paralympics, having debuted at the 2008 Beijing Games with a 1,000-meter-long race. That distance has now doubled to 2,000 meters.

There are five gold medals in rowing in Paris, one more than in Tokyo, with one men’s individual, one women’s individual, two mixed pair and one coxed four.

Korea is sending a significantly larger rowing squad than the one-woman team in Tokyo, with five rowers competing in Paris.

Kim Se-jeong returns for her third Paralympics in the women’s single sculls, alongside a coxed four squad of Bae Ji-in, Choi Seon-woong, Kang Hyoun-joo and Lee Seung-ho.

Kim Se-jeong waves from the podium after taking silver at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China. [KOREA PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE]

Shooting

Korea’s marksmen and women are ready once again to show off some shooting skills at the Paris Paralympics.

With 21 gold medals, 13 silver and 8 bronze, Korea ranks third on the Paralympic shooting medal table. At the 2008 Bejing Games, Korea won four gold, three silver and two bronze, at the 2012 London Games, Korea won three gold and one bronze and at the 2016 Rio Games, Korea won two silver and five bronze medals.

Those numbers continued to drop in Tokyo, where Korea left with a silver and two bronze, but Korea’s 12-person shooting squad are looking to turn things around in Paris.

There are 13 shooting gold medals up for grabs in Paris, three for men, three for women and seven mixed events.

Korean shooter Kim Jung-nam competes at the 2022 Hangzhou Para Asian Games in Fuyang, China on Oct. 26, 2023. [YONHAP]

Swimming

Like athletics, swimming is one of the most popular events at the Paralympics and was one of the eight sports contested at the inaugural 1960 Paralympic Games.

At the Games, swimmers start their races in different ways that are adjusted depending on their impairments. Some swimmers will start in the water instead of on a platform and belts may be used at the start of a backstroke race if the athlete cannot hold on to the side. Special lane ropes are used to guide visually impaired swimmers.

Korea’s Jo Gi-seong is one of most decorated swimmers of recent years, having burst onto the scene at the 2016 Rio Paralympics where he took home gold medals in the men’s 50 meter, 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle races. He failed to medal in Tokyo, but a comeback is on the cards as he returns to the pool in Paris.

Jo Gi-seong competes in the men's 50-meter breaststroke preliminary competition at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in Tokyo on Aug. 25, 2021. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Table tennis

Korea is sending a 17-person squad to compete in the table tennis competition at the Paris Paralympics.

Korea is one of the best in the sport, winning one gold, six silver and six bronze in Tokyo and one gold, three silver and five bronze medals in Rio.

There are 31 separate medal events in Paralympic table tennis, with men’s and women’s individual and team events divided across a large number of impairment classes.

Kim Young-gun will become a six-time Paralympian in Paris and, if he medals, he will add to the four gold and three silver medals already to his name.

Kim Young-gun competes in the men's singles final at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics in Tokyo on Aug. 30, 2021. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Taekwondo Taekwondo returns for a second Paralympics with 10 medals on the table, five each across different men’s and women’s weight classes.

Matches take place in the same kind of octagonal contest area as taekwondo at the Olympics and in three rounds of two minutes.

The big difference is that in Paralympic taekwondo, kicks to the head are not permitted and give the opponent a point, unlike in the Olympics, where kicks to the head are the aim of the game and rewarded the most points.

Jeo Jeong-hun was the only Korean to compete in 2020 where he took bronze in the men’s -75 kilograms. He will return this year in the -80 kilograms on the back of a gold medal at the Asian Para Games and silver at the 2023 world championships. Lee Dong-ho, the 2023 world No. 5 in men’s -63 kilograms, joins him in Paris.

Triathlon

Paralympic triathlon is a sprint event (relatively speaking), in contrast to the long-distance Olympic race, consisting of a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer cycle and five-kilometer run. Athletes compete in six categories according to the nature of the impairment, with some categories permitting helpers for transitions or pilot guides for visually impaired racers.

Kim Hwang-tae will become the first Korean ever to compete in Paralympic triathlon in Paris, where he will race in the men’s PTS3 sport class for atrhletes with moderately affected coordination on one side or the absence of limbs.

A quadruple threat, Kim has competed at international level in marathon running, taekwondo and cross-country skiing, qualifying for the PyeongChang Paralympics in the latter but having to withdraw due to injury.

Triathlete Kim Hwang-tae poses after winning bronze at the 2024 World Triathlon Championship Series in Yokohama, Japan on May 11. [YONHAP]

Wheelchair fencing

Korea are competing in wheelchair fencing for the first time in 12 years in Paris, sending an all-female team in a bid to carry a recent resurgence in the sport to the Games.

Cho Eun-hyo, Kwon Hyo-kyeong and Baek Gyeong-hye will represent Korea in Paris, with all three competing in both the individual and team events in multiple disciplines: Cho and Kwon in foil, epee and sabre; and Baek in epee and foil.

The trio are serious contenders — Kwon arrives in Paris having topped the podium at multiple World Cups and won two U-23 world titles, while Cho took silver at the 2023 World Championships.

Kwon Hyo-kyeong, left, competes in the quarterfinals of the women's epee team event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 26, 2023. [YONHAP]

Wheelchair tennis

Wheelchair tennis is broken into six disciplines, men’s and women’s singles and doubles and quad singles and doubles.

Quad players have an impairment that affects three or more limbs and can use a powered chair or tape their racket to their arm.

In wheelchair tennis, the matches are played in a best of three format but the same court, balls and rackets are used for each game. Unlike tennis, the ball can bounce twice during play.

Korea’s two-man team of Im Ho-won and Han Sung-bong will both compete in the men’s singles and doubles, with Im returning for his third Paralympics. The 26-year-old went from a R32 finish in both events in Rio to an R16 finish in both in Tokyo, and will be looking to build on that success in Paris.

Wheelchair tennis player Im Ho-won is photographed in training on May 25, 2021. [JOONGANG ILBO]

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]