Olympic champion Kim Jun-ho, a right-handed sabre fencer from South Korea, has won three team Asian championships, three team world championships, and the 2021 team Olympic title. Kim was a member of the squad that won gold in the team sabre competition at the Asian Games and the World Championships in 2018.
Kim was a member of the senior national squad in 2014–15. Along with Gu Bon-gil, Kim Jung-hwan, and Oh Sang-uk, he was a member of the team that won gold in the men’s team sabre at the 2016 Asian Fencing Championships. Kim served in the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps. He helped the men’s sabre team defeat Korea National Sport University to win the President’s National Fencing Championships while still a member of the Corps. The participating athletes who won gold but had not yet finished their military duty were given exemptions, but as Kim had previously enlisted, he was discharged earlier than planned.
Kim’s teammates from the Asian Games and World Championships in 2018 were reunited with him after Kim Jung-hwan came out of retirement, and they all earned spots in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Since Kim Jung-hwan had a better individual FIE ranking and was therefore expected to compete in the individual event, he was the team’s designated replacement and did not do so. The quartet successfully defended the men’s team sabre gold medal despite the Olympics being postponed. You can follow Kim on Instagram @kjh_0526, where he has more than 60,000 followers.