Jang Chang-sun, the pioneering wrestler who became South Korea's first world champion in any sport and helped establish the nation as an international wrestling power, has died. He was 83.
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The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee announced that Jang died Sunday. A cause of death was not disclosed.
Jang is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in South Korean sports history. After winning a silver medal at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, he earned South Korea's first Olympic wrestling medal with a silver at the 1964 Tokyo Games.
He made history two years later by capturing the gold medal at the 1966 World Wrestling Championships in Toledo, Ohio, becoming the first South Korean athlete to win a world championship in any sport.
Following his competitive career, Jang remained deeply involved in South Korean athletics. He served as a national team coach, vice president of the Korea Wrestling Association, head of the Taereung National Training Center and later held leadership roles with the organizing committee for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee credited Jang with helping build South Korea's international training programs and contributing to the country's athlete pension system while mentoring generations of wrestlers.
Jang received numerous honors during his lifetime, including presidential commendations and South Korea's highest sports awards. In 2014, he was inducted into the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's Hall of Fame as one of the nation's Sports Heroes.
The committee said Jang's funeral will be held as an official Korean Sport & Olympic Committee funeral.
He is survived by his wife, Kim Soon-nam, a son and a daughter.
