TOKYO • An San kept South Korea's Olympic flag flying in women's archery yesterday as she took the individual title, brushing off online criticism of her hairstyle to become the first archer to win three golds at a single Games.
The 20-year-old held her nerve as both her final and semi-final went to shoot-offs, downing Elena Osipova of the Russian Olympic Committee to take gold. Italy's Lucilla Boari won the bronze.
An is now the first South Korean athlete to win three gold medals at the Summer Games.
But the Gwangju native, already a double gold medallist in the women's and mixed team events, has become a target for online hostility at home after cutting her hair short, a look labelled "feminist" by some social media users.
That term has become associated with a rise in misogynist sentiment among South Korean young men. Growing animosity towards feminism and public policy to promote women's rights has become a hot topic in the country.
South Korean women have enjoyed unprecedented campaigning successes in recent years.
But, despite fighting to legalise abortion to organising a widespread #MeToo movement and taking action against spycam videos secretly filmed in public places, feminism is still often framed as selfish and misandrist.
In her semi-final, An beat American Mackenzie Brown - herself subject to criticism on social media for choosing to compete unvaccinated against Covid-19 - before beating Osipova.
Her win, celebrated to K-pop band BTS' song Permission To Dance, came after a mostly disappointing individual competition by her teammates.
Kang Chae-young was unexpectedly knocked out yesterday in the quarter-finals but South Korea, traditionally dominant in the sport, still managed to win the team gold - their ninth in succession in the event, equalling the overall Olympic record.
"I thought I shot good, but not many arrows hit 10s," the tearful Kang said after her loss.
She added she was aware of the criticism of An's hair, adding that the team were ignoring it to maintain focus on their matches.
Apart from An, the only other archer still in contention among the six South Koreans who entered the individual events is Kim Woo-jin from the men's team, who will shoot today.
On the criticism, An has said she will answer questions related only to the Games, while her coach has blocked the media from asking "unnecessary" questions.
The furore has, however, drawn plenty of support, with more than 6,000 photographs of South Korean women with short hair posted on social media platforms to show solidarity, according to local reports.
Some South Korean politicians and celebrities also posted messages of encouragement along with their own short-hair photos.
"With that firm look, please shoot through every prejudice in the world. We stand by your short-cut hair and support you," Sim Sang-jung, a lawmaker from the minority Justice Party, said in a tweet.
Another post urged people to call the Korea Archery Association to defend An from online hatred and its website was also flooded by at least 1,500 messages in support of the athlete.
"It's been very disheartening to see women, including an Olympic champion, being pressured to explain and even apologise about their own choices and bodies, when it really should be no one's business," women's rights activist Kwon Soo-hyun told Agence France-Presse.
"This incident yet again shows the scale of sexism in our society."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
