Kim Jae-bum (김재범) (Korean pronunciation: [kim.dʑɛ̝.bʌm]; born 25 January 1985, in Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do) is a retired South Korean judoka.[1] Despite being plagued with injuries throughout his career, Kim is known for dominating major competitions at the half-middleweight category (81kg)—particularly between his Olympic debut in 2008 and his 2012 Olympic finals rematch against Ole Bischof.[2]
Kim has had several nicknames, including "Man of One Arm Wins" for his successes through injury, "Korean Tiger" for his aggressive play and iconic status in South Korean judo, and "Energizer Bunny" for his quick and relentless style of judo.[3][4]
He was granted exemption from South Korea's mandatory military service in 2010, following his gold medal victory at the Guangzhou Asian Games.[5]
Judo career[edit]
Kim won a gold medal in the -73 kg class at the 2004 World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest, Hungary.[6]
At the 2005 Asian Judo Championships in Tashkent, he won a gold medal in the -73 kg class.
Kim was considered one of the Big Three Judokas of the -73 kg class in South Korea, along with Lee Won-hee and Wang Ki-chun. But in 2007, he moved up in weight to avoid the fierce competition,[7] and won a gold medal in the -81 kg category at the 2008 Asian Judo Championships in Jeju.
At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Kim won the silver medal in the -81 kg class.[8] In the preliminary rounds, he defeated 2006 European champion Serguei Shundikov of Belarus by points, and 2007 European champion Robert Krawczyk of Poland by ippon. Kim edged out 2008 European champion João Neto of Portugal by points in the quarterfinals. In the semifinal, Kim beat 2005 World Champion Guillaume Elmont of the Netherlands. Despite defeating all of the European champions from 2006-08 in the previous rounds, Kim lost in the final round to the 2005 European champion, Ole Bischof of Germany.
Kim won his first major gold medal at the 2010 World Judo Championships held in Tokyo, Japan. In the gold medal match, he defeated two-time Olympic medalist Leandro Guilheiro of Brazil[9] by scoring a waza-ari with ouchi-gari in extra time.[6]
Kim proceeded to become a two-time world champion at the 2011 World Judo Championships held in Paris, France. During the Round of 16, Kim avenged his 2008 Beijing Olympic Games finals loss to Ole Bischof.[10] Kim went on to win gold by defeating Srdjan Mrvaljevic of Montenegro with a waza-ari by osaekomi.[11]
In the 2012 London Summer Olympics, Kim won the gold medal in men's -81 kg division, defeating German rival, Ole Bischof.[12]
He announced his retirement on 1 May 2016.[13][14][15]
Achievements[edit]
| Year | Tournament | Place | Weight class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2014 Incheon Asian Games | 1st | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2012 | 2012 London Summer Olympics | 1st | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2011 | 2011 Paris World Judo Championships | 1st | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2010 | 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games | 1st | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2010 | 2010 Tokyo World Judo Championships | 1st | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2010 | 2010 Suwon World Masters Tournament | 1st | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2009 | 2009 Rotterdam World Judo Championships | 3rd | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2008 | 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics | 2nd | Half middleweight (–81 kg) |
| 2004 | 2004 Budapest World Judo Championships — Juniors | 1st | Lightweight (–73 kg) |
Competitive record[edit]
| Judo Record[16] | |
|---|---|
| Total | 123 |
| Wins | 110 |
| by Ippon | 43 |
| Losses | 13 |
| by Ippon | 8 |
(as of 30 October 2015)
References[edit]
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kim Jae-bum". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
- ^ "For gold, Korean judoka ignores life to train to death".
- ^ "Grand Slam Tokyo 2014: Nagase vs Kim".
- ^ "Cool Kiz on the Block: All Star Special Part 1".
- ^ "Korean judokas clean up at the Asian Games".
- ^ a b Kim, Jason (13 September 2010). "Kim wins first world title; Wang loses out". JoongAng Ilbo.
- ^ Kim, Jason (15 November 2010). "Korean judokas clean up at Asian Games". JoongAng Ilbo.
- ^ "German Bischof wins men's 81kg judo Olympic gold". Xinhua. 12 August 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "The 2010 World Judo Championships in Tokyo in pictures". The Daily Telegraph. London. 13 September 2010.
- ^ "Bischof ohne Medaille - Schwache WM-Zwischenbilanz". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 25 August 2011.
- ^ Chesterman, Barnaby (25 August 2011). "Kim, Emane claim second world titles". AFP.
- ^ "Olympic judo: South Korea's Kim Jae-Bum wins men's -81kg gold". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ "JudoInside - News - Olympic judo champion Kim Jae-Bum announces retirement". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Former Olympic champ judoka to retire, pursue coaching career". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Korean Judoka Retires, Looks Forward to 'New Start' as Coach". koreaportal. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
- ^ "Kim Jae-bum: Statistics".
External links[edit]
Media related to Kim Jae-bum at Wikimedia Commons
- Kim Jae-bum at the International Judo Federation
- Kim Jae-bum at JudoInside.com
- Kim Jae-bum at AllJudo.net (in French)
- Kim Jae-bum at Olympics.com
- Kim Jae-bum at Olympedia
- Kim Jae-bum at The-Sports.org
- Kim Jae-bum at databaseOlympics.com (archived)
- Kim Jae-bum on Cyworld (in Korean)
- Kim Jae-bum on Instagram
1972–1976: –70 kg • 1980–1996: –78 kg • 2000–: –81 kg | |
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World Judo Championships — Men's Half Middleweight | |
|---|---|
1967–75: −70 kg • 1979–97: −78 kg • 1999–present: −81 kg | |
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