3-time medalist Jin Jong-oh takes aim at 2020 Tokyo Olympics

3-time medalist Jin Jong-oh takes aim at 2020 Tokyo Olympics. August. 12, 2016 07:25. by 리우데자네이루=이헌재 기자uni@donga.com. Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh won his 50m pistol gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Wednesday local time, becoming the first shooter to win gold in three consecutive Olympics in the same event.

Jin believes that shooting is all about “one shot.” “You should take one shot at a time, which makes every shot very important," Jin said. "Though you shoot tens of times, it is one shot that makes or breaks the game.”  

While obtaining six medals (four golds and two silvers) during four Olympics, the 37-year-old shooter has made many decisive “one shots," which has different meanings each time.

○ 'One shot' as the god of shooting

The score of 6.6 points was ridiculous. Jin shook his head in disappointment. Such a low score was more fatal at the Rio Olympic Games, due to the introduction of the survival rule. The 6.6-point performance in the ninth shot would have been impossible to overcome for most shooters.

Jin Jong-oh was different, however. He fought back after declining to the 7th. “That 6.6-point shot woke me up, as it made me more focused to finish the game with no regrets,” he said.

He jumped to the 3rd position by recording 10.4 and 10.3 points in the 11th and 12th shots, respectively. In the 14th, he shot a 10.7, close to the maximum point (10.9). His competitors began to fall apart. Hoang Xuan Vinh of Vietnam, who was in the lead from the beginning, fired an 8.5 in the 19th shot, while Jin scored a 10.0 and jumped to the first position. Jin recorded 9.3 points in the final shot, when Hoang scored 8.2 points. Jin Jong-oh won the gold medal, setting an Olympic record with a 193.7 score.

“Jong-oh should be regarded as the 'god of shooting,' as there is no way to explain his victory theoretically,” said Kim Seon-il, who had taught Jin and is currently coaching the Taiwan shooting team.  

○　'One shot' as the best shooter

Jin Jong-oh made the best “one shot” as a human shooter at the 2012 London Olympics when he won gold medals both in the 10m air pistol and 50m pistol events. In particular, the final shot in the 10m air pistol final was “one shot” that would remain in history. Jin advanced to the final in the first place with 588 points and recorded over 10 for the first five shots. However, he scored 9.3 points in the 6th shot and remained in the 9s until the 9th shot. Going into the final 10th shot, he had only a 1.3 lead on Luca Tesconi of Italy. However, Jin breathed in deeply and scored a 10.8, close to the maximum point (10.9), to win the game.

The men’s 50m pistol event was more dramatic. Jin was seven points behind Choi Young-rae (1st place), as he advanced to the final in the 5th place. The 7-point lead is almost impossible to overcome in the 10-shot final. However, Jin narrowed the gap to 1.6 with one bullet left. Choi scored an 8.1 in the final shot, making a mistake out of pressure. Jin scored a 10.2 to win the gold medal.

○　'One shot' as a human being

Meanwhile, the dramatic “one shot” was missing at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Jin was in the lead in the men’s 50m pistol final. However, he made a mistake of shooting a 6.9 in the 7th shot, which made him settle for a silver medal.

Four years later, Jin Jong-oh won the first gold medal in the men’s 50m pistol event in Beijing, where he also made a mistake as a human being. With just a 1.9 lead on Tan Zongliang of China in the 9th shot, Jin shot an 8.2 in the final shot, being too nervous. Fortunately, Jin could win the gold medal as Tan Zongliang scored only 9.2 points.