Oh Sang-uk (born 30 September 1996) is a South Korean right-handed

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

fencer. Oh is a four-time team Asian champion, 2019 individual Asian champion, three-time team world champion, and 2019 individual world champion. Competing at his first

Summer Olympic Games 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 ...

, Oh was a member of the South Korean team that won gold in team men's sabre at the

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Early life

Oh followed his older brother into fencing and joined his middle school's fencing team. A native of

Daejeon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...

, he attended Songchon High School, known as a high school fencing powerhouse in the region, and began representing the national team in the youth categories. During his senior year, he won gold in the individual sabre event at the national high school championships and his high school team won in the team event.

Career

Oh had been a stand-out in the junior and cadet categories and quickly drew attention for defeating then-ranked world number 1 and 2012 Olympic team gold medalist

Gu Bon-gil Gu Bon-gil ( or ; born 27 April 1989) is a South Korean right-handed sabre fencer. Gu is an eight-time team Asian champion, seven-time individual Asian champion, and three-time team world champion. A three-time Olympian, Gu is a two-time te ...

in the Round of 16 of the 2015 National Championships. He was earmarked as a successor to Kim Jung-hwan, whom he idolized in high school and who was speculated to be retiring after the 2016 Olympics, due to their similar aggressive style of play and agility. While he did not make it to the final, he was ranked high enough to qualify for the senior national team, a rarity for a teenager as fencers were generally selected for the national team while in college. At that time, the men's sabre team went through a generational change with the retirements of 2012 Olympic team gold medalists Oh Eun-seok and Won Woo-young. The nineteen-year-old was added into the team with Kim Jun-ho, joining veterans Kim Jung-hwan and Gu Bon-gil for the 2016 Asian Championships. He won his first ever gold medal in a major international tournament when they won the team gold. Due the now-abolished rotation system, there was no men's team sabre event at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

. Oh did not rank high enough to qualify for the individual event. He won back-to-back gold medals with the same team at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asian ...

, in 2017 and 2018. In the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

, he reached the final of the individual event and was defeated by Gu, taking silver. However, his gold medal in the team event meant that he was exempted from

mandatory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

. Kim Jung-hwan retired from the national team after the Asian Games and was replaced by Ha Han-sol. Oh won four gold medals in 2019, winning in both the team and individual events at the

and

. Kim Jung-hwan came out of retirement and the gold medal-winning team from the 2017 and 2018 Worlds was reunited again and qualified for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, which was postponed for a year. He was nearly unable to participate as he contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

several months prior to the Olympics and then sustained an ankle injury during pre-competition training. Oh went into the Olympics ranked world number 1, thus earning a spot in the individual event. However, he lost to

Sandro Bazadze Sandro Bazadze ( ka, სანდრო ბაზაძე; born 29 July 1993) is a Georgian right-handed sabre fencer. He is the 2023 and 2022 individual European champion, and a two-time Olympian. Bazadze competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro ...

in the quarter-finals. He won his first Olympic medal when they won gold in the team event. In the

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

semi-finals, he scored the last point in a narrow 45–42 win over Germany, sending the South Koreans to the final for a second consecutive time. During the final against Italy, with the score at 40–21 to South Korea, Oh nearly conceded their lead but managed to score the final five points to win 45–26, the exact same score in the final nine years prior.

Medal record

Olympic Games

World Championship

Asian Championship

Grand Prix

World Cup

Performance timeline

National team

Individual

Personal life

Oh is in a relationship with foil fencer Hong Hyo-jin, who is 2 years older than him. Oh attended

Daejeon University Daejeon University is a private university located in Daejeon, South Korea. The current president is Lim Yong-Cheol (임용철). About 230 instructors are employed. The university also operates four Oriental medicine hospitals, two in Daejeon an ...

, known for its fencing team, on a scholarship and graduated in 2019.

Filmography

Television shows

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oh, Sang-uk 1996 births Living people Sportspeople from Daejeon South Korean male sabre fencers Fencers at the 2018 Asian Games Fencers at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games medalists in fencing Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games Universiade medalists in fencing FISU World University Games gold medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2017 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2019 Summer Universiade Fencers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in fencing Olympic fencers for South Korea World Fencing Championships medalists 21st-century South Korean people