Song Dae-nam

Song Dae-Nam (Hangul: 송대남; ; born 5 April 1979 in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do) is a former South Korean judoka.

Song served in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces as a sergeant, and represented them at the Military World Games in 2003, winning gold in the lightweight category.

A comic book has been written about Song's win at the Olympics.

Song raised his weight from 73 kg to 81 kg as he transitioned to senior level.

In his first international outing, he won the 2004 Rendez-vous Canada in Montreal.

He then competed in the 2005 Kracup Korea Open in Jeju, and finished second.

Song's first high-level tournament was at the 2006 Jigoro Kano Cup in Tokyo, but lost to Japan's Hirotaka Kato in the final, settling for silver.

He competed at the Super World Cup in Paris a month later, losing to Italy's Giuseppe Maddaloni for his third consecutive silver.

A week later, Song finally won at the World Cup in Vienna, beating France's Alain Schmitt.

He continued his winning streak at the 2006 Kracup Korea Open, winning gold.

""When you become a winner it's important not to become complacent and when you become a loser it's important not be disappointed or frustrated.""

In 2007, Song participated at the Super World Cup in Paris, but lost in his first fight.

He redeemed himself at his second Jigoro Kano Cup, surprisingly beating Takashi Ono in the final for gold.

In 2008, just months before the Olympics, Song competed in the Super World Cup in Paris again, but set-backs began as he lost in his second fight.

Song's second tournament would be a turning point in his career, as he lost to local half-lightweight number one and eventual 2008 Olympic silver medalist Kim Jae-bum at the Korea National Qualifiers in the finals by shido in golden score.

Post-Olympics, Song won two consecutive competitions, the International Judo Cup in Dubrovnik and Megion International Judo Tournament.

Song won his first Grand Slam in Paris, where he met long-time rival and teammate Kim in the final.

He won the gold due to Kim's injury that led to a concession.

He next participated at the Grand Slam in Moscow, where he participated in ippon judo in his first two fights.

He lost by ippon to Belarus' Aliaksandr Stsiashenka in the semi-final, finishing fifth.

Song redeemed himself at the World Cup in Ulaanbaatar, where he won the tournament.

He beat Mongolia's Dashdavaa Gantumur in just 21 seconds by ippon in the final.

In 2010, Song competed in his first Masters at home ground in Suwon, but failed to medal, losing his second fight to Russia's Sirazhudin Magomedov by ippon.

His losses continued to mount in the high level competitions, as he finished seventh at the Grand Slam in Paris, failing to defend his title.

At the Grand Prix in Düsseldorf, Song again failed to medal, losing to prime rival Kim by waza-ari in golden score, after nearly eight minutes, in the semi-final.

He remained on the losing end with his rivalry with Kim, losing in the final by ippon at the World Cup in Prague.

Song won another silver medal at the Grand Slam in Moscow, losing to Russia's Ivan Nifontov with harai goshi by ippon in the final.

Song next participated in his first World Championships in Tokyo, which was his last competition as a half-middleweight.

He was 31-years-old by then.

He lost in his third fight to France's Loïc Pietri by waza-ari and ippon.

Song moved up a weight class in 2011, returning to the Grand Slam in Moscow as a middleweight.

Unfortunately, his losses carried over to his new weight division, losing in his second fight to Argentina's Héctor Campos by ippon and yuko.

In his second World Championships, he again crashed out early, losing to Brazil's Tiago Camilo narrowly by yuko in golden score.

Song eventually won at the World Cup in Ulaanbaatar, defeating Russia's Kirill Voprosov in the final by ippon.

He then lost in the semi-final at the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi to rising Georgian star Varlam Liparteliani by ippon in just 47 seconds.

Song rose to prominence when he won the gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2012 Olympics.

He was then nominated as the flagbearer for Korea in the closing ceremony.

He is best known as the head coach of the South Korea Men's National Team, having produced two world champions in his first year as head coach.

Song moved up a weight class from half-middleweight to middleweight in 2012 after constant defeats to teammate Kim Jae-bum and inability to qualify for the Olympics in 2008.

Song is an alumnus of Kumoh Elementary School, Kyung-min Middle School and Kyung-min High School.