South Korean Athletes Return Home From Rio
South Korean Athletes who were the main contingents return home from the Rio 2016 Olympics with a heroes' welcome on Wednesday after the 17 day competition in Brazil.
Hundreds of people including the families and friends of the athletes welcomed them at the airport. The team together with the 70 athletes and sports officials arrived at Incheon International Airport about 8:10 a.m.
The South Korean flag bearer at the airport is the wrestler Kim Hyeon-woo. He was also the flag bearer in the Rio Games closing ceremony. Kim won a bronze medal in men's division under 75-kg Greco-Roman competition in Rio Olympics.
Meanwhile, athletes in shooting, football, badminton, archery, fencing, volleyball and other sports returned earlier in South Korea before the flights of the main contingents because they finished their events early in Rio. The South Korean Taekwondo team will return home on Thursday.
A total of 333 athletes and officials represented South Korea in 24 of 28 sports in Rio Games from August 5-21. South Korea garnered at least 10 gold medals and ranked in the Top 10 for gold medal count on its four consecutive Olympics.
The delegation was officially disbanded after Chung Mong-gyu, South Korea's chef de mission, reported their performance at the Rio Games and handed the national flag to Kang Young-joong, co-chief of the Korean Olympic Committee.
"Our athletes were people's hope and joy during the Olympics. You gave us confidence that we can reach our goals through hard work and moved our heart with your efforts," Kang said in his welcoming speech.
"Our athletes competed in the spirit of fair play and they were citizen diplomats as they also respected their opponents. The Rio Olympics is over, but I hope our athletes continue to work hard to reach their goals," Chung, the chief of the Korea Football Association (KFA) said.
The Eight gold medalists namely; archers Lee Seung-yun, Kim Woo-jin, Chang Hye-jin, Ku Bon-chan, Ki Bo-bae, Choi Mi-sun, fencer Park Sang-young and shooter Jin Jong-oh expressed their gratitude for the national support during the Olympics.