South KoreanArcherOlympic Gold MedalistAsian Games Medalist

Lee Chang-hwan

Lee Chang-hwan is a South Korean archer who won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and multiple gold medals at the World Archery Championships and Asian Games.

1. Overview

Lee Chang-hwan (이창환i.tɕʰaŋ.ɦwanKorean; born March 16, 1982) is a prominent South Korean archer. Throughout his career, he has achieved significant success in both individual and team events on the international stage. His major accomplishments include a gold medal in the men's team event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, multiple gold medals at the World Archery Championships, a team gold medal at the Asian Games, and various other medals from international and domestic competitions. His career has seen him represent prestigious teams such as Doosan Heavy Industries and Kolon, solidifying his status as a key figure in South Korean archery.

2. Early life and education

Lee Chang-hwan's foundational years in archery and academics laid the groundwork for his distinguished career.

2.1. Birth and early life

Lee Chang-hwan was born on March 16, 1982, in South Korea.

2.2. Education

Lee Chang-hwan pursued his education through various institutions, culminating in specialized athletic training. He attended and graduated from Sungpo Elementary School, Sungpo Middle School, and Gyeonggi Physical Education High School. For his higher education, he enrolled in and graduated from the Korea National Sport University.

3. Career

Lee Chang-hwan's professional archery career is marked by his affiliations with various prominent teams and his consistent participation in major competitive events.

3.1. Team affiliations

Lee Chang-hwan has been affiliated with two major archery teams during his professional career. From 2006 until November 2011, he was a member of the Doosan Heavy Industries archery team. Subsequently, in December 2011, he joined the Kolon archery team, with which he remains affiliated.

3.2. Major competitive history

Throughout his career, Lee Chang-hwan has consistently competed in a wide array of major archery tournaments, both domestically and internationally. His competitive history includes participations in the Olympic Games, World Archery Championships, Asian Games, and other significant international events like the Asian Archery Championships and the Summer Universiade, as well as prominent domestic competitions such as the National Sports Festival.

4. Major achievements

Lee Chang-hwan has amassed a remarkable collection of medals and accolades across various high-profile archery competitions, solidifying his status as one of South Korea's most successful archers.

4.1. Olympic Games

Lee Chang-hwan competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he achieved significant success in the team event. In the individual ranking round, he scored 669 points, placing him tenth overall, ten points behind the leader, Juan René Serrano. In the individual competition bracket, he defeated Jiang Lin of China with a score of 112-108 in the first round. In the second round, he overcame Yusuf Ergin by 117-109, setting a new Olympic record. However, his individual medal hopes ended in the third round when he faced Cheng Chu-sian. Both archers scored 105 points, leading to an extra round where Cheng scored 19 points to Lee's 18, eliminating him from the competition.

Alongside his teammates Im Dong-hyun and Park Kyung-mo, Lee Chang-hwan also participated in the men's team event. Their combined scores from the ranking round (Lee with 669, Im with 670, and Park with 676) placed South Korea in first position, earning them a direct spot in the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, they defeated the Polish team 224-222. They then advanced to the semi-finals, where they triumphed over the host nation, China, with a score of 221-218. In the final match, South Korea faced Italy and secured the gold medal with a score of 227-225, with Italy closely behind at 225 points.

4.2. World Archery Championships

Lee Chang-hwan has a strong record at the World Archery Championships, earning multiple gold medals. He won a gold medal in the individual recurve men's event at the 2009 World Archery Championships held in Ulsan, South Korea. At the same championships in 2009, he also secured a gold medal in the men's team event. His team success extends to earlier championships, including a team gold medal at the 2007 World Archery Championships in Leipzig, Germany, and another team gold medal at the 2001 World Archery Championships in Beijing, China.

4.3. Asian Games

Lee Chang-hwan has also achieved success at the Asian Games. He was part of the South Korean men's team that won a gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar. The team included Lee Chang-hwan, Im Dong-hyun, Jang Yong-ho, and Park Kyung-mo.

4.4. Other international competitions

Beyond the Olympic Games and World Archery Championships, Lee Chang-hwan has earned significant medals in other international tournaments. He won a gold medal in the men's team event at the 2009 Asian Archery Championships held in Denpasar, Indonesia. Additionally, at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu, South Korea, he earned two silver medals, one in the individual event and another in the team event.

4.5. Domestic competitions

Lee Chang-hwan's competitive prowess extends to domestic competitions in South Korea. Notably, he achieved a third-place finish in the men's general division 230 ft (70 m) event at the 90th National Sports Festival in 2009.