Im Ae-ji

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In this Korean name, the family name is Im.
Im Ae-ji
Im in August 2024
Born (1999-05-11) May 11, 1999 (age 25)
Hwasun, South Korea
NationalitySouth Korea
Statistics
Weight classFeatherweight
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Boxing record[1]
Total fights26
Wins15
Wins by KO0
Losses11
Draws0
No contests0
Medal record
Representing  South Korea
Women's amateur boxing
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Paris Bantamweight
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Guwahati Lightweight
Im Ae-ji
Hangul
임애지
Revised RomanizationIm Ae-ji
McCune–ReischauerIm Ae-ji

Im Ae-ji (Korean: 임애지; born May 11, 1999) is a South Korean amateur boxer. In 2024, she became the first South Korean woman to win any Olympic medal in boxing.[2]

Early life and education

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Im briefly competed as a track and field athlete when she was young and started her boxing career in her second year of middle school, although Im's parents objected her sports career transition. Since her school did not have a boxing club, she trained at the gym she went to, and eventually won in a local competition just one year after starting as a boxer.[3]

Im graduated from Hwasun Elementary School [ko], Hwasun Middle School [ko], Jeonnam Technical Science High School [ko], and Korea National Sport University.[4]

Career

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Im debuted on the world stage by winning the gold medal at the 2017 World Youth Women's Boxing Championships in Guwahati, becoming the first Korean female boxer to do so in a world competition.[3]

In 2018, she competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta in the women's featherweight division, but lost in the first round of the competition.[3]

Im qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by winning bronze medal in the women's featherweight division at the Asia and Oceania qualifiers in Amman in March,[5] but lost 1-4 in the quarter-finals against Australian boxer Skye Nicolson.[6]

In 2022, she competed at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in the women's bantamweight division but lost 0-5 against North Korean boxer Pang Chol-mi.[5]

In 2024, Im lost in the first world qualifier held in Busto Arsizio in March, and as soon as she came back to South Korea, Im went to the selection again and got a ticket to the second world qualifier held in Bangkok in June, with the goal of going to the Olympics.[3] In August, she took the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after Im lost 2-3 in the semi-finals of women's bantamweight division against Turkish boxer Hatice Akbaş.[7] In December, she won the bronze medal at the 2024 World Boxing Cup Finals in Sheffield by beating Japanese boxer Mikoto Harada in the quarter-finals of the women's bantamweight division but lost 0-5 against Mongolian boxer Oyuntsetsegiin Yesügen in the semi-finals.[8]

Personal life

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Im's family is a sports enthusiast. Her mother Lee Young-ae is a marathon runner and runs a marathon event company, while her younger sister Im Ha-jin is a cross-country runner for the Gyeonggi Provincial Office.[3]

She is a fan of the South Korean boy group Monsta X,[9] and enjoys listening to the group's songs while practicing.[3]

Recognition

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Awards

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Legacy and impact

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In 2024, Im became the first South Korean boxer to win an Olympic medal in boxing at the Paris Olympics in 12 years after Han Soon-chul at the London Olympics and the first South Korean woman in history.[14] A boxing gymnasium in Hwasun, South Jeolla Province, was also created and named after her.[15]

Im was able to increase the international competitiveness of Korean boxing through achieving changes in the weight class of women's boxing in South Korea, as well as making boxing a trend, with the increased number of female club members and gaining popularity among young people, as after-effect of her winning at the Olympics.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Boxing record for Im Ae-ji". BoxRec.
  2. ^ Mok, Yong-jae; Park, Jae-woo; Kim, Jin-kuk (August 6, 2024). "North, South Korean boxers become first to medal in their sport on same day". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Yoon, Hye-jin (August 21, 2024). "동메달 아쉽지만, 그래도 제 경기 재미있었죠?". Woman Dong-a (in Korean). Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Cho, Hye-won (September 12, 2025). "시합을 온전히 즐기는 선수로 기억해 주세요". Jeonnam Maeil (in Korean). Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Yang, Mary; Bulley, Jim (August 5, 2024). "Who is Im Ae-ji, the first Korean woman to win an Olympic boxing medal?". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  6. ^ "Nicolson wins through to quarter-finals as draw opens up". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  7. ^ Peene, Sam (August 4, 2024). "Paris 2024 boxing: All results, as Republic of Korea's Im Aeji, Democratic People's Republic of Korea's Pang Cholmi take women's 54kg bronze medals". Olympics. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  8. ^ Lee, Mi-ae (December 5, 2024). 화순군 임애지 선수, 2024 월드 복싱 컵 동메달 획득. Cheonji Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  9. ^ Won, Min-soon (September 1, 2024). '몬스타엑스 팬' 임애지 "기현X아이엠 SNS 응원글에 기절할 뻔" (당나귀 귀). Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved February 13, 2025 – via Naver.
  10. ^ Kang, Sung-dae (October 25, 2024). '파리올림픽 영웅' 남수현, 임애지, '전남인 賞' 수상. Safety Newspaper (in Korean). Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  11. ^ Choi, Kyu-han (December 4, 2024). [사진]임시현-임애지, '시상식에서 기분 좋은 만남'. OSEN [ko] (in Korean). Retrieved April 11, 2025 – via Naver.
  12. ^ Ko, Beom-jun (February 25, 2025). 경기부문 장려상 수상한 임애지-김채연. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved April 11, 2025 – via Naver.
  13. ^ Yang, In-beom (February 28, 2025). 화순군 복싱부, '2024 최우수지도자상 및 선수상 수상 쾌거. Voice of Citizens (in Korean). Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  14. ^ "Im Ae-ji secures S. Korea's 1st medal in women's boxing". The Korea Times. August 2, 2024. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
  15. ^ Jung, Seung-ho (November 22, 2024). 올림픽 메달 '임애지' 이름 딴 체육관 열어. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved April 11, 2025 – via Naver.
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