Kim Kwang-sun: South Korea’s Olympic Boxing Champion
South Korean boxer Kwang-Sun Kim won the flyweight gold medal at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games, defeating East Germany’s Andreas Tews in the final. His victory remains the defining achievement of a career that spanned Olympic competition and the professional ring.
From Los Angeles to Olympic gold
Kim, also recorded as Kim Gwang-Seon, was born on June 8, 1964, in Cheongwon County. His Olympic story began at Los Angeles 1984, where he competed at light flyweight and was eliminated before the medal rounds. Four years later, he returned at flyweight, the division with a 51-kilogram limit.
Seoul offered a very different outcome. Kim advanced through a field of 44 boxers, beating opponents including Arthur Johnson of the United States and Bulgaria’s Serafim Todorov. He then defeated the Soviet Union’s Timofei Scriabin in the semifinal to secure his place in the gold-medal bout.
A final against Andreas Tews
The championship match on October 2 brought Kim against Tews, who had already established himself among Europe’s leading amateur boxers. Kim won the decision and finished the tournament as Olympic champion, with Tews taking silver. The result gave the host nation a gold medal in one of boxing’s lighter weight classes.
Kim later turned professional in 1990 and challenged for world titles during a short professional career. His Olympic achievements and professional appearances represent distinct chapters: the Seoul gold was earned in amateur competition, while the embedded footage features his later meeting with Michael Carbajal.
Olympedia records Kim’s Olympic gold and tournament history. Sources: [1] [2]
Sources
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
