South Korea tops host nation France to win 3rd straight men's team archery gold

South Korea tops host nation France to win 3rd straight men’s team archery gold

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South Korea’s Wooseok Lee celebrates with after a win during the men’s team gold medal match Archery competition against France at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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South Korea’s Wooseok Lee celebrates winning during the men’s team semifinals Archery competition against China at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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South Korea’s Wooseok Lee, right, South Korea’s Je Deok Kim, left, and South Korea’s Woojin Kim, center celebrate after a win during the men’s team gold medal match Archery competition against France at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Gold medal winners, South Korea’s Je Deok Kim, left, Woojin Kim, center, Wooseok Lee, right, celebrate during the men’s team medal ceremony at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Silver medal winners, France’s Baptiste Addis, left, Thomas Chirault, center and Jean-Charles Valladont, right, celebrate during the men’s team medal ceremony at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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South Korea’s Woojin Kim, center, Wooseok Lee, and Je Deok Kim celebrate after a win during the men’s team gold medal match Archery competition against France at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Turkey’s Berkim Tumer, left, Abdullah Yildirmis, center and Mete Gazoz gather during the men’s team bronze medal Archery competition against at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Turkey’s Abdullah Yildirmis shoots during the men’s team bronze medal match competition against China at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Turkey’s Berkim Tumer, left, and Turkey’s Mete Gazoz celebrate during the men’s team bronze medal Archery competition against China at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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France’s Thomas Chirault, left, Jean-Charles Valladont, center and Baptiste Addis, right, celebrate their win after a shoot out of the men’s team semifinals Archery competition against Turkey at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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France’s Thomas Chirault, right, Jean-Charles Valladont, left, and Baptiste Addis celebrate a win during the men’s team quarterfinals Archery competition against Italy at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Teams France, South Korea, and Turkey celebrate during the men’s team medal ceremony at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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France’s Baptiste Addis shoots during the men’s team semifinals Archery competition against Turkey at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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France’s Thomas Chirault shoots during the men’s team semifinals Archery competition against Turkey at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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South Korea’s Wooseok Lee shoots during the men’s team semifinals Archery competition against China at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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France’s Thomas Chirault shoots during the men’s team quarterfinals Archery competition against Italy at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Turkey’s Mete Gazoz, right, Berkim Tumer, left, and Turkey’s Abdullah Yildirmis celebrate a win during the men’s team quarterfinals Archery competition against India at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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Italy’s Mauro Nespoli shoots during the men’s team quarterfinals Archery competition against France at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

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South Korea’s Je Deok Kim shoots during the men’s team semifinals Archery competition against China at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

By CLIFF BRUNT

PARIS (AP) — A fired-up home crowd couldn’t push France past the South Korean juggernaut in the Paris Olympics men’s team archery final.

The first set finished with a score of 57-all, but South Korea took the second 59-58 and the third 59-56 to win 5-1 overall on Monday at Les Invalides.

Kim Woo-jin, Kim Je-deok and Lee Woo-seok won the third straight team gold for South Korea.

French fans waved their flags feverishly throughout the final and brought the noise whenever one of their archers hit a 10. Even after things clearly were going South Korea’s way in the third set, the French fans remained engaged.

“While we were facing the French team, there was a lot of cheers from the audience,” South Korea’s Kim Woo-jin said through a translator. “That was the biggest challenge.”

Kim Woo-jin was on the past three winning teams but he has not claimed individual gold. He will compete for that on Aug. 4. He also will participate in the mixed team competition on Aug. 2.

“I think that some of my first initial goals are already met because those were my initial targets,” he said. “And now I have my individual games left. But usually, the higher the goals, I think that usually, you have a lot of mistakes. So I will try to relieve my head of all of those goals and try to just focus with my heart.”

It was South Korea’s seventh team gold medal since the sport returned to the Olympics in 1972 – no other nation has won more than once in that span.

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Turkey claimed bronze by defeating China 6-2. France and Turkey claimed their first medals since that 1972 return.

Turkey’s Mete Gazoz added to his medal collection — he was the individual gold medalist in Tokyo.

After the loss, French fans cheered loudly when team members Baptiste Addis, Thomas Chirault and Jean-Charles Valladont stepped up to the podium with the Eiffel Tower standing in the distance.

“It’s true that we’re making history today,” Chirault said through a translator. “We have the first silver medal for the men’s team. We had medals in individuals or for women, but this one, we didn’t have it. So now we’re opening the games and we hope to have others after. So we’re very proud to have opened this medal count, if you like, and we are confident. We really want to reproduce this success in the future.”

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https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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