The head of the Korean delegation to the London 2012 Olympic Games has credited the team’s success to their pre-Games training camp at Brunel University.
The Republic of Korea finished fifth overall in the medal table behind the United States, China, Great Britain and Russia, with 28 medals overall. This success equals the country's record total of 13 gold medals achieved in Beijing in 2008, with particular success in Fencing, Shooting, Archery and Judo.
Lee Kee-Heung, the team’s Chief Delegate, highlighted the pre-Games training camp at Brunel as the most important factor in achieving the results, which exceeded targets set before the Games. Quoted in The Korea Times, he said: “This is the best thing we have done at these Olympics as a delegation. The training base allowed athletes to train with proper partners, served them delicious and nutritious Korean food, and offered medical care. We will look to open a similar camp for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro."
The Korean Olympic team arrived on Friday 20 July and made use of campus facilities including the sport halls and exercise studio, as well as amenities within the London Borough of Hillingdon including the 50m swimming pool at the Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex in Uxbridge.
The training camp attracted huge media interest back home, with a number of top TV channels and newspapers covering the team’s arrival on campus, including the major TV channels SBS and KBS and the newspaper Chosun.