Song Dae-Nam (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 송대남; ; born 5 April 1979 in

Yongin Yongin () is a city in the Seoul Capital Area, the largest in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population over 1 million, the city has developed rapidly since the 21st century, recording the highest population growth of any city in the count ...

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

) is a former

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 ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, 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 Nipponi ...

ka. Song rose to prominence when he won the gold medal in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

division at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He was then nominated as the flagbearer for Korea in the closing ceremony. He is best known as the head coach of the South Korea Men's National Team, having produced two world champions in his first year as head coach. Song moved up a weight class from half-middleweight to middleweight in 2012 after constant defeats to teammate

Kim Jae-bum Kim Jae-bum (김재범) (; born January 25, 1985 in Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do) is a retired South Korean judoka. Despite being plagued with injuries throughout his career, Kim is known for dominating major competitions at the half-middleweight ...

and inability to qualify for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

in 2008.

Personal life

Song is an alumnus of Kumoh Elementary School, Kyung-min Middle School and Kyung-min High School. Song served in the

Republic of Korea Armed Forces The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of ...

as a sergeant, and represented them at the

Military World Games The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A w ...

in 2003, winning gold in the lightweight category. A comic book has been written about Song's win at the Olympics.

Competitive career

Beginnings: 2004-2006

Song raised his weight from 73 kg to 81 kg as he transitioned to senior level. In his first international outing, he won the 2004 Rendez-vous Canada in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He then competed in the 2005 Kracup Korea Open in

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

, and finished second. Song's first high-level tournament was at the 2006

Jigoro Kano Cup The Grand Slam Tokyo (formerly ) is an international judo competition held as part of the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Tour Grand Slam series. Venues *1978–2006: Nippon Budokan *2007–present: Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium Pa ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, but lost to Japan's Hirotaka Kato in the final, settling for silver. He competed at the Super World Cup in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

a month later, losing to Italy's

Giuseppe Maddaloni Giuseppe Maddaloni (born 10 July 1976) is an Italian judoka. He was born in Naples. He won a gold medal in the lightweight (66–73 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was trained by his father Gianni Maddaloni, in the district of ...

for his third consecutive silver. A week later, Song finally won at the World Cup in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, beating France's

Alain Schmitt Alain Schmitt (born 2 November 1983) is a French 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【� ...

. He continued his winning streak at the 2006 Kracup Korea Open, winning gold.

Failure to qualify for the Olympics: 2007-2008

In 2007, Song participated at the Super World Cup in Paris, but lost in his first fight. He redeemed himself at his second Jigoro Kano Cup, surprisingly beating Takashi Ono in the final for gold. In 2008, just months before the Olympics, Song competed in the Super World Cup in Paris again, but set-backs began as he lost in his second fight. Song's second tournament would be a turning point in his career, as he lost to local half-lightweight number one and eventual 2008 Olympic silver medalist

at the Korea National Qualifiers in the finals by shido in golden score. Post-Olympics, Song won two consecutive competitions, the International Judo Cup in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

and

Megion Megion (russian: Мегион) is a town in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia, located at the altitude of above sea level, on the right bank of the Ob River, east of Khanty-Mansiysk and northeast of Tyumen. The area of the town is ...

International Judo Tournament.

Continued losses in the half-middleweight: 2009-2010

Song won his first Grand Slam in Paris, where he met long-time rival and teammate Kim in the final. He won the gold due to Kim's injury that led to a concession. He next participated at the Grand Slam in Moscow, where he participated in ippon judo in his first two fights. He lost by ippon to Belarus' Aliaksandr Stsiashenka in the semi-final, finishing fifth. Song redeemed himself at the World Cup in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

, where he won the tournament. He beat Mongolia's Dashdavaa Gantumur in just 21 seconds by ippon in the final. In 2010, Song competed in his first Masters at home ground in

Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...

, but failed to medal, losing his second fight to Russia's Sirazhudin Magomedov by ippon. His losses continued to mount in the high level competitions, as he finished seventh at the Grand Slam in Paris, failing to defend his title. At the Grand Prix in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

, Song again failed to medal, losing to prime rival Kim by waza-ari in golden score, after nearly eight minutes, in the semi-final. He remained on the losing end with his rivalry with Kim, losing in the final by ippon at the World Cup in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. Song won another silver medal at the Grand Slam in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, losing to Russia's

Ivan Nifontov Ivan Vitaliyevich Nifontov (russian: Иван Витальевич Нифонтов; born 5 June 1987, in Pavlodar Pavlodar ( ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located 450 km northeast ...

with

harai goshi is one of the original 40 throws of Judo as developed by Kano Jigoro. It belongs to the second group of the traditional throwing list in the ''Gokyo no waza'' of the Kodokan Judo. It is also part of the current 67 Throws of Kodokan Judo, and cl ...

by ippon in the final. Song next participated in his first

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, ...

in Tokyo, which was his last competition as a half-middleweight. He was 31-years-old by then. He lost in his third fight to France's

Loïc Pietri Loïc Pietri (born 27 August 1990) is a French judoka who competes in the 81 kg category. He won the world title in 2013, placing third in 2014 and second in 2015. At the 2016 Olympics he was eliminated in the first bout. His father, Marce ...

by waza-ari and ippon.

Transition to middleweight: 2011-2012

Song moved up a weight class in 2011, returning to the Grand Slam in Moscow as a middleweight. Unfortunately, his losses carried over to his new weight division, losing in his second fight to Argentina's Héctor Campos by ippon and yuko. In his second

, he again crashed out early, losing to Brazil's

Tiago Camilo Tiago Henrique de Oliveira Camilo (born 24 May 1982) is a judoka from Brazil, who won the silver medal in the lightweight (−73 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also won a gold medal at the 2007 World Judo Championships, and was ...

narrowly by yuko in golden score. Song eventually won at the World Cup in Ulaanbaatar, defeating Russia's Kirill Voprosov in the final by ippon. He then lost in the semi-final at the Grand Prix in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

to rising Georgian star

Varlam Liparteliani Varlam Liparteliani (; born 27 February 1989) is a Georgian judoka. He has won silver at Olympic and World level. Career He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the -90 kg event and lost in the second round to Mark Anthony. At the European ...

by ippon in just 47 seconds. Song managed to redeem himself at the World Cup in Suwon, winning all his fights by ippon, making the tournament his best in terms of performance. At the Grand Slam in Tokyo, Song faced Voprosov in a revenge match in the quarter-final. He lost by ippon, finishing seventh place. His medal-less streak continued at the Grand Prix in

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

, narrowly losing to Mongolia's Enkhbat Erdenebileg by two yukos in the round of sixteen. In 2012, Song continued to crash out early in tournaments just five months before the

. He lost in the quarter-final of the Grand Slam in Paris to Ukraine's Roman Guntiuk by ippon. At the last tournament before the Olympics, Song came close to clinching a title, however narrowly lost by yuko to Liparteliani in the final. En route to the final, Song beat former

world champion 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, ...

Lee Kyu-won Lee Kyu-Won (Korean: 이규원, Hanja: 李奎遠, born 14 February 1989) is a male judoka from South Korea, whose biggest success so far was winning the world title at the age of 19 at the 2009 World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands ...

in the semi-final by ippon and outranked him in the Olympic qualifiers rankings, allowing Song to represent Korea in the middleweight division at the Olympics.

Breakthrough and retirement from Judo: 2012 Olympics

Six months before the Olympics, Song ranked number 25 in the world rankings. In May, he advanced to number 17, and entered the Olympics with this rank. He was seeded number 11. Song's main skill was seoi nage, and used it to win en-course to the final. He was a complete surprise, reaching the final, and was set to face world number seven

Asley González Asley González (born 5 September 1989 in Caibarién) is a Cuban judoka. He won the 2013 World Championship in the −90 kg event. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won the silver medal in the Men's 90 kg competition. Career At the 2008 O ...

, who was ten years younger than him. He defeated Gonzalez in golden score with an unorthodox kouchi gari. Song became the oldest Olympic gold medalist in judo, at age 33. He was one of the two South Korean Olympic champions at the tournament, with the other ironically being his old-time rival, Kim. After the Olympics, Song ranked number five in the world, the highest in his career. He retired after the Olympics.

Coaching career

Song returned to the South Korea National Team as a coach for the men's lightweight, half-middleweight and middleweight. He has been promoted to head coach of the men's national team. His assistant coach is Olympic and world champion

Choi Min-ho Choi Min-ho (; born December 9, 1991), better known by the mononym Minho, is a South Korean rapper, singer, actor, songwriter, and model. In May 2008, he debuted as a member of South Korean boy group Shinee which later became one of the best-se ...

, who specializes in the extra and half-lightweights, and heavyweights. He has a reputation as "good-looking", a "hulk", and a "tiger" at the Taeneung Athlete's Village. He is a strict coach who is much respected by his students. Under Song, Korea has produced two world champions with

An Baul An Ba-ul (a.k.a. An Baul; Hangul: 안바울, ; born 25 March 1994) is a South Korean judoka. An is the former half-lightweight World Champion. He rose to prominence by becoming South Korea's first half-lightweight champion in more than a deca ...

and

Gwak Dong-han Gwak Dong-han (Hangul: 곽동한; ; born 20 April 1992) is a South Korean judoka. He won the gold medal in the 90 kg event at the 2015 World Judo Championships. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the world (as of 8 February 2016). He was his coa ...

, and bronze medalists Kim Won-jin and

An Chang-rim An Chang-rim (; born 2 March 1994) is a South Korean retired judoka. An is currently the world champion in the lightweight division. He began his rise as one of judo's top lightweights by becoming junior World Champion. It was followed by a tw ...

. Gwak was Song's training partner at the 2012 Olympics.

Competitive record

''(does not include local tournaments and qualifiers)''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Dae-Nam Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka of South Korea Olympic gold medalists for South Korea 1979 births Living people Olympic medalists in judo Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics South Korean male judoka People from Yongin Sportspeople from Gyeonggi Province