Mo Tae-bum

Mo Tae-bum

Personal information
Born	(1989-02-15) 15 February 1989 (age 35) Seoul, South Korea
Height	1.77 m (177 cm)
Weight	90 kg (200 lb)
Sport
Country	South Korea
Sport	Speed skating
Medal record Men's speed skating Representing  South Korea Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 1 0 World Sprint Championships 0 1 1 World Single Distance Championships 2 1 0 Winter Universiade 2 0 0 World Junior Championships 2 0 0 Asian Winter Games 0 2 0 Total 7 5 1 Olympic Games 2010 Vancouver 500 m 2010 Vancouver 1000 m World Sprint Championships 2011 Heerenveen Sprint 2012 Calgary Sprint World Single Distance Championships 2012 Heerenveen 500 m 2013 Sochi 500 m 2013 Sochi 1000 m Winter Universiade 2009 Harbin 1000 m 2009 Harbin 1500 m 2007 Turin 500 m 2007 Turin 1500 m World Junior Championships 2006 Erfurt 500 m 2006 Erfurt 1500 m Asian Winter Games 2011 Astana-Almaty 1500 m 2011 Astana-Almaty Team pursuit

Mo Tae-bum (Korean: 모태범, Hanja: 牟太釩;^[1] Korean pronunciation: [mo.tʰɛ̝.bʌm]; born 15 February 1989^[2]) is a South Korean speed skater. He is the 2010 Olympic Champion and the 2012 and 2013 World Champion in 500 m. He started speedskating while in the third grade. Prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, Mo won two distances at the 2006 World Junior Speed Skating Championships. He has competed on the national level since 2004 and has competed internationally since 2005.

He won two Junior World Championships in 2006, but did not win any other events until 2009. In 2009 he won gold in the 1000 m and 1500 m events at the Winter Universiade. The international community gave him little attention before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, but he became the first Korean to win a gold medal in a long track speed skating event as well as earning the silver medal in the 1000 m race. This was a large upset, as he was ranked fourteenth in the world in the 500 m race. Lee Myung-bak congratulated Mo for his achievements in speed skating following these wins.