Oh Eun-seok (; born 2 April 1983) is a South Korean retired

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. He is an Olympic and Asian Games gold medalist in the team event.

Early life

A native of Daegu, Oh was a former runner and took up fencing in middle school. He attended Osung High School, one of the few high schools in the city with a fencing club. It was not until he enrolled at Dong-Eui University, known for its fencing team, that he decided to turn professional.

Career

Oh won gold in team sabre and silver in individual sabre at the 2003 Junior World Fencing Championships in

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He also participated in the

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

hosted by his hometown and won silver in the individual event. In 2005 he reached the final of the Seoul Grand Prix and was defeated by his rookie national teammate Kim Jung-hwan. However, Kim's gold medal was forfeited and given to Oh after the former failed a doping test. At the 2007 FIE World Championships he won the bronze medal in the men's individual sabre category after losing to four-time Olympic champion and ten-time world champion

Stanislav Pozdnyakov Stanislav Alekseyevich Pozdnyakov ( rus, Станислав Алексеевич Поздняков, , stənʲɪˈslaf pəzʲnʲɪˈkof; born 27 September 1973) is a Russian former fencer, a five-time Olympian (1992–2008) and five-time Olymp ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

12–15 in the semifinals. Oh qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the individual sabre competition. On August 12, 2008, he won his first round 15–8 win against Dmitri Lapkes of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

, but ultimately had a 15–11 loss to eventual silver medalist Nicolas Lopez of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in the round of 16. He finished 13th. At 2012 Summer Olympics, he participated as substitute for the team sabre competition. Despite not getting his chance for participating in quarterfinal match against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and semifinal match against

, he came out on final match against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

on 8th bout. He faced

Alexandru Sirițeanu Alexandru Sirițeanu (; born 16 April 1984) is a Romanian 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 peri ...

, who came out as substitute for the Romanian side. The bout finished in just 14 seconds, when Oh accumulated 5 points for the Korean side, while conceding 1 point. Ultimately, he won gold medal along with his teammates

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 ...

, Won Woo-young, and Kim Jung-hwan. The quartet continued to dominate in the team events; in the year 2014 alone they swept gold at both the

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 * Asia ...

and Asian Games hosted at home and won silver 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, ...

. They had a disappointing run at the 2015 World Championships as none of them reached the final in the individual event and then lost by only a point to France in the quarter-finals of the team event. A week later, they successfully defended their team gold medal at the

, his last major international competition. Oh and Won both retired from the national team at the end of the season.

Medal Record

Olympic Games

World Cup

Grand Prix

Personal life

Oh married rhythmic gymnast Gim Yun-hee in May 2016. Gim is a 2014 Asian Games silver medalist in the team event.

References

External links

Profile and Career Statistics
on the International Fencing Federation website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oh, Eun-seok 1983 births Living people Fencers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers of South Korea Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in fencing Asian Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 2006 Asian Games Fencers at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics South Korean male sabre fencers Sportspeople from Daegu Fencers at the 2014 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Universiade medalists in fencing Universiade silver medalists for South Korea Dong-Eui University alumni 20th-century South Korean people 21st-century South Korean people