Jang Chang-sun, a pioneering wrestler who won a silver medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and later served as head of the Taereung National Training Center, died Monday.
Jang is regarded as one of the greatest figures in South Korean wrestling history. He won a silver medal at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games and another at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics before becoming the first South Korean wrestler to capture a world championship title, winning gold at the 1966 World Wrestling Championships in Toledo, Ohio.
After retiring from competition, Jang continued to serve South Korean wrestling and sports as a national team coach, executive director and vice president of the Korea Wrestling Association, and head of the Taereung National Training Center, dedicating himself to developing future athletes and advancing the nation's sports system.
He played a vital role in establishing South Korea's overseas training camp program and laying the foundation for the operation of the Taereung National Training Center. He also helped establish the country's athletic pension program, officially known as the Athletic Performance Improvement Research Pension. Later, he served as a member of both the bid committee and the organizing committee executive board for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
Jang received presidential commendations in 1964 and 1994, the Korea Sports Award in 1965, and was inducted into the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's Hall of Fame as one of South Korea's Sports Heroes in 2014.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee said it will hold Jang's funeral as an official sports community funeral. KSOC President Yoo Seung-min said, "As South Korea's first world championship gold medalist, he opened a new chapter in our nation's sporting history. We will long remember and carry on the noble spirit and achievements of a man who devoted his entire life to the country and the development of Korean sports."
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed.)
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