North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's tenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
The Olympic Committee of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 2000. A total of 35 athletes, 15 men and 20 women, were selected for the North Korean team across nine different sports, marking the fourth straight Games to feature more female athletes than male. North Korea did not register any of its entrants in boxing for the first time since 1972, but was represented in artistic gymnastics for the first time in eight years, after missing out of London 2012 due to a two-year suspension for age falsification.
Notable athletes on the North Korean roster included weightlifting champions Om Yun-chol (men's 56 kg) and Rim Jong-sim (women's 75 kg), twins Kim Hye-gyong and Kim Hye-song in the women's marathon, pistol shooter and three-time Olympian Kim Jong-su, and former gymnastics champion Hong Un-jong in the women's vault. Weightlifting rookie Choe Jon-wi was selected by the committee to lead the North Korean delegation as the flag bearer in the opening ceremony.
North Korea left Rio de Janeiro with a total of seven medals (2 golds, 3 silver, and 2 bronze), signifying its most successful Olympic outcome based on the overall medal count, but falling short of the 12-medal target set by its sports commission. Half of North Korea's medal haul was distributed to the weightlifters, while the rest to the competitors in artistic gymnastics, shooting, and table tennis. Among the medalists were Rim Jong-sim, who repeated her golden feat from London four years earlier in a heavier category, and double world champion Ri Se-gwang, who obtained the nation's first ever gymnastics title by a male after 24 years.
Medalists Medal Name Sport Event Date Rim Jong-sim Weightlifting Women's 75 kg Ri Se-gwang Gymnastics Men's vault Om Yun-chol Weightlifting Men's 56 kg Choe Hyo-sim Weightlifting Women's 63 kg Kim Kuk-hyang Weightlifting Women's +75 kg Kim Song-guk Shooting Men's 50 m pistol Kim Song-i Table tennis Women's singles
Archery
One North Korean archer qualified for the women's individual recurve by obtaining one of the three Olympic places available from the 2015 Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
AthleteEventRanking roundRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / ScoreSeedOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankKang Un-juWomen's individual64315W 6–0W 6–2L 2–6Did not advance
Athletics (track and field)
North Korean athletes achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of three athletes in each event):
Track & road events AthleteEventFinalResultRankPak CholMen's marathon2:15:2727Kim Hye-gyongWomen's marathon2:28:3611Kim Hye-song2:28:3610Kim Kum-ok2:38:2449
Diving
North Korean divers qualified for the following individual spots and synchronized teams at the 2016 Olympic Games by achieving a top-three finish at the 2015 World Championships.
AthleteEventPreliminariesSemifinalsFinalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankKim Kuk-hyangWomen's 10 m platform263.2025Did not advanceKim Un-hyang289.4518 Q343.705 Q357.907Kim Kuk-hyangKim Mi-raeWomen's 10 m synchronized platformcolspan=4 322.444
Gymnastics
Artistic North Korea has qualified one male and one female artistic gymnast for of the following apparatus and all-around events through the 2015 World Championships.
Men AthleteEventQualificationFinalApparatusTotalRankApparatusTotalRankRi Se-gwangVaultcolspan=3 15.433colspan=2 15.4331 Qcolspan=3 15.691colspan=2 15.691
Women AthleteEventQualificationFinalApparatusTotalRankApparatusTotalRankHong Un-jongVault15.683colspan=3 15.6832 Q14.900colspan=3 14.9006Floorcolspan=3 12.53312.53371Did not advance
Judo
North Korea qualified three judokas for each of the following weight classes at the Games. Hong Kuk-hyon and Kyong Sol were ranked among the top 22 eligible judokas for men and top 14 for women in the IJF World Ranking List of 30 May 2016, while Kim Sol-mi in the women's extra-lightweight (48 kg) earned a continental quota spot from the Asian region as the highest-ranked North Korean judoka outside of direct qualifying position.
AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsRepechageFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankHong Kuk-hyonMen's −73 kgL 000–100Did not advanceKim Sol-miWomen's −48 kgL 000–001Did not advanceSol KyongWomen's −78 kgL 000–100Did not advance
Shooting
North Korean shooters have achieved quota places for the following events by virtue of their best finishes at the 2014 and 2015 ISSF World Championships, the 2015 ISSF World Cup series, and Asian Championships, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) as of March 31, 2016.
AthleteEventQualificationSemifinalFinalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankKim Jong-suMen's 10 m air pistol57527colspan=2 Did not advanceMen's 50 m pistol54824colspan=2 Did not advanceKim Song-gukMen's 10 m air pistol57717colspan=2 Did not advanceMen's 50 m pistol5575 Qcolspan=2 172.8Jo Yong-sukWomen's 10 m air pistol38112colspan=2 Did not advanceWomen's 25 m pistol5826 Q127Did not advancePak Yong-huiWomen's trap6512Did not advance Qualification Legend: Q = Qualify for the next round; q = Qualify for the bronze medal (shotgun)
Table tennis
North Korea has fielded a team of three athletes into the table tennis competition at the Games. Kim Song I and 2012 Olympian Ri Myong-sun scored a second-stage draw victory each to book two of six remaining Olympic spots in the women's singles at the Asian Qualification Tournament in Hong Kong.
Ri Mi-gyong was awarded the third spot to build the women's team for the Games by virtue of a top 10 national finish in the ITTF Olympic Rankings.
AthleteEventPreliminaryRound 1Round 2Round 3Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankKim Song-iWomen's singlescolspan=2 W 4–0W 4–3W 4–2W 4–2L 1–4W 4–1Ri Myong-suncolspan=2 W 4–1W 4–0L 0–4Did not advanceKim Song-iRi Mi-gyongRi Myong-sunWomen's teamcolspan=4 W 3–0L 0–3 did not advance
Weightlifting
North Korean weightlifters have qualified a maximum of six men's and four women's quota places for the Rio Olympics based on their combined team standing by points at the 2014 and 2015 IWF World Championships. The team must allocate these places to individual athletes by 20 June 2016.
On 22 June 2016, the International Weightlifting Federation decided to strip one men's and one women's entry place each from North Korea to the Olympics because of "multiple positive cases" of doping throughout the qualifying period.
Men AthleteEventSnatchClean & jerkTotalRankResultRankResultRankOm Yun-chol−56 kg13421692303Kim Myong-hyok−69 kg1573196 -Kwon Yong-gwang137161761131314Choe Jon-wi−77 kg153819083438
Women AthleteEventSnatchClean & jerkTotalRankResultRankResultRankChoe Hyo-sim−63 kg10531432248Rim Jong-sim−75 kg12111531274Kim Kuk-hyang+75 kg13111752306
Wrestling
North Korea has qualified a total of four wrestlers for each of the following weight classes into the Olympic competition. Three of them finished among the top six to book an Olympic spot each in the men's freestyle 57 kg, men's Greco-Roman 59 kg, and women's freestyle 53 kg at the 2015 World Championships, while the other had claimed the remaining Olympic slot to round out the North Korean roster at the initial meet of the World Qualification Tournament in Ulaanbaatar.
Men's freestyle AthleteEventQualificationRound of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalRepechage 1Repechage 2Final / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankYang Kyong-il−57 kgL 1–4 SPDid not advanceW 3–1 PPL 1–4 SPDid not advance8
Men's Greco-Roman AthleteEventQualificationRound of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalRepechage 1Repechage 2Final / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankYun Won-chol−59 kgW 3–1 PPL 0–4 STDid not advance10
Women's freestyle AthleteEventQualificationRound of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalRepechage 1Repechage 2Final / OppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankKim Hyon-gyong−48 kgL 1–3 PPDid not advance13Jong Myong-suk−53 kgW 4–0 STW 4–0 STL 1–3 PPDid not advanceL 1–3 PPDid not advance7
References
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