Choi Min-ho () is a South Korean

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. He was born on August 18, 1980 in

Gimcheon Gimcheon (; , trans., 'gold spring city') is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is situated on the major land transportation routes between Seoul and Busan, namely the Gyeongbu Expressway and Gyeongbu Line railway. In ancient ...

Gyeongsangbuk-do North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Career

He competed in the 2004

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

where he won the bronze medal and defeated then world champion Craig Fallon. He also competed in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, where he won the gold medal in the 60 kg extra-lightweight category. In Beijing, he ended all 5 of his matches by

Ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the four ...

and defeated former European champion

Ludwig Paischer Ludwig Paischer (born 28 November 1981 in Oberndorf bei Salzburg) is an Austrian judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本 ...

in the final for the gold medal. Choi was voted as the 2008 ''Best Judoka of the Year'' by ''L´Esprit du Judo'' magazine of France.http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?linkid=406&articleid=2009020910351777870&newssetid=28

References

External links

*
Videos of Choi Min-ho
(judovision.org) * 1980 births Living people South Korean Roman Catholics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka of South Korea Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic bronze medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in judo Asian Games medalists in judo World judo champions Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2002 Asian Games Judoka at the 2010 Asian Games South Korean male judoka Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Universiade medalists in judo Universiade bronze medalists for South Korea People from Gimcheon 21st-century South Korean people {{SouthKorea-Olympic-medalist-stub