(Reuters) – South Korea’s An San, the first archer to win three gold medals at a single Olympics, failed to make the cut for the 2024 Paris Games at the final open selection event in Gwangju on Monday.
An had clinched gold in the individual, team and mixed team events at the Tokyo Games in 2021 but the 23-year-old did not make the cut of 16 shortlisted.
South Korea has a policy of selecting only the best performing athletes, cutting those who do not have high scores even if they have had stellar results in the past.
An had also made headlines in Tokyo where she became a target of online bullying over her hairstyle after cutting it short, but that did not stop her from becoming the first South Korean to win three gold medals at a single Olympic games.
Other big names that did not make the cut were Jang Minhee, who won team gold in Tokyo, and 2016 Olympic champion Ku Bonchan. Eight archers will be named in the women’s squad later this week.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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