South Korea goes 9-0 to win Olympic baseball gold

[MrsCat 6]

Seconds after Chong Tae-hyon's final pitch that secured an Olympic gold medal for the South Korean baseball team, 23 of his teammates stormed the mound in jubilation, with 14 of them no doubt more ecstatic than the others.

. . . .

Korea wasn't considered a medal favourite in the men's tournament, but went unbeaten in all nine of its games to win gold in its first-ever appearance in the Olympic final.

As a result, 14 members of the team won't have to report for two years of military duty.

Earlier Saturday, the United States doubled Japan 8-4 to win bronze after failing to compete for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.

But it will be the performance by South Korea that will long be remembered as an upset in baseball's last Olympic hurrah for at least eight years.

The sport has been lifted from the Olympic program for the 2012 Summer Games in London, but is eligible for readmission in 2016.

. . . .

The Koreans erupted in a pile of red and white on the mound, throwing their manager into the air before taking a victory lap around Wukesong Stadium while waving flags.

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/baseball/story/...southkorea.html

Edited August 23, 2008 by cattattude