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{{Infobox speed skater
| name       = Mo Tae-bum
| image      = Victory Ceremony - BC Place - Vancouver British Columbia Mo Tae-Bum.jpg
| imagesize  = 250px
| caption    = 
| alt = 
| headercolor = #d7ecff
|country     = {{KOR}}
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1989|2|15|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]]
|height      = {{height|m=1.77}}
|weight      = {{convert|72|kg|lb st|abbr=on}}
|pb          = 
|website     = 
|titles      = no
|worldcup    = 
|worldchamp  = 
|medaltemplates={{Medal|Sport|Men's [[speed skating]]}}
{{Medal|Country|{{KOR}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Speed skating at the Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Vancouver]]|[[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres|500&nbsp;m]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Vancouver]]|[[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 1000 metres|1000&nbsp;m]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[World Sprint Speed Skating Championships|World Sprint Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2011 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships|2011 Heerenveen]]|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2012 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships|2012 Calgary]]|Sprint}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[World Single Distance Championships for Men|World Single Distance Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2012 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|2012 Heerenveen]]|[[2012 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships – Men's 500 metres|500 m]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2013 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|2013 Sochi]]|[[2013 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships – Men's 500 metres|500 m]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2013 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|2013 Sochi]]|[[2013 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|1000 m]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Speed skating at the Winter Universiade|Winter Universiade]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2009 Winter Universiade|2009 Harbin]]|1000&nbsp;m}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2009 Winter Universiade|2009 Harbin]]|1500&nbsp;m}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[World Junior Speed Skating Championships|World Junior Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[World Junior Speed Skating Championships|2006 Erfurt]]|500&nbsp;m}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[World Junior Speed Skating Championships|2006 Erfurt]]|1500&nbsp;m}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Speed skating at the Asian Winter Games|Asian Winter Games]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2011 Asian Winter Games|2011 Astana-Almaty]]|[[Speed skating at the 2011 Asian Winter Games|1500 m]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2011 Asian Winter Games|2011 Astana-Almaty]]|[[Speed skating at the 2011 Asian Winter Games|Team pursuit]]}}
}}
{{Infobox Korean name
| hangul  = 모태범
| hanja   = 牟太釩
| rr      = Mo Taebeom
| mr      = Mo Taebŏm
| context = 
| img     = 
| caption = 
}}
{{Korean name|Mo}}
[[File:Mo Tae Bum 2010.jpg|thumb|right|Mo Tae-bum during the 500&nbsp;m speed skating competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics.]]

'''Mo Tae-bum''' ([[Hangul]]: 모태범, [[Hanja]]: 牟太釩;<ref name="KOC">{{cite web|url=http://210.117.202.170:25000/2/21/share/item_pop.jsp?no=200409016241&div=P&gameCode=129|script-title=ko:모태범|publisher=Korean Olympic Committee|language=Korean|accessdate=23 February 2010|trans_title=Mo Tae-Bum}}</ref> {{IPA-ko|mo.tʰɛ̝.bʌm}}; born 15 February 1989<ref name="koreatimes">{{cite news|url=http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2010/02/136_60901.html|title=Mo Wins Men's 500 Meters|last=Kang|first=Seung-woo|date=16 February 2010|publisher=The Korea Times|accessdate=17 February 2010|location=Seoul}}</ref>) is a [[South Korea]]n [[speed skating|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&nbsp;m and 1500&nbsp;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&nbsp;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.

==Personal life==
Mo Tae-bum was born in [[Seoul]] to father Mo Yeong-yeol and mother Jeong Yeon-hwa in 1989.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.sbs.co.kr/section_news/news_read.jsp?news_id=N1000710996 |script-title=ko:"장하다 막둥아!"...모태범 선수 가족들 '환호성' |trans_title= |publisher=[[Seoul Broadcasting System|SBS]] |date=2010-02-16|language=Korean |author=Song, In-geun (송인근)}}</ref> He has one elder sister, Mo Eun-yeong. Mo started skating when his father suggested it while he was in third grade at Eunseok Elementary School. His participation in the school skating team led him to win a cup from rival Lila Elementary School, which had dominated the age group at that time. Since then, Mo has been a close friend to [[Lee Seung-hoon]], a fellow speed skater who also won a silver and a gold medal from the 2010 Winter Olympics.<ref name="Yonhap Family">{{cite news|url=http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/local/2010/02/16/0811000000AKR20100216138100060.HTML?template=2086 |title={{angbr|올림픽}} 모태범 가족 "최고의 생일선물"(종합) |trans_title={{angbr|Olympic}} Mo Tae-Bum's family "The best birthday present" (general) |publisher=[[Yonhap]] |date=2010-02-16|language=Korean}}</ref> As Mo grew older, he almost gave up skating but, after three years of indecision, he decided against giving it up on the advice of his mother. Mo and his family currently live in the city of [[Pocheon]], [[Gyeonggi]] province.<ref name="Yonhap Family" />

As of 2010, Mo is a junior at [[Korea National Sport University]].<ref name="yonhapko">{{cite news|url=http://news.hankooki.com/lpage/sports/201002/h20100217105330111960.htm|script-title=ko:'금메달' 모태범-이상화 심상찮은 사이?|date=17 February 2010|publisher=Yonhap|language=ko|accessdate=18 February 2010}}</ref> Mo currently lives with his parents in [[Pocheon]], [[Gyeonggi province]].

==Junior career==
Mo's first event was at the [[2005 South Korean Single Distance Championships]], which occurred on 23 and 24 November 2004.<ref name="skateresults">{{cite web|url=http://www.skateresults.com/skaters/mo_tae-beom#results|title=SkateResults: Results for Mo Tae-Beom|accessdate=15 February 2010}}</ref> He finished tenth in the 1000&nbsp;m race with a time of 1:16.81 and third in the 1500&nbsp;m event with a time of 1:59.47.<ref name="skateresults" /> His next event was the [[2005 World Junior Speed Skating Championships]], where he participated in the 500, 1500, 3000 and 5000&nbsp;m events. However, he did not finish in the top ten in any event except the 500&nbsp;m, in which he took fifth place with a time of 38.21.<ref name="skateresults" />

In 2006, he attended the [[2006 South Korean Sprint Championship|South Korean Sprint Championship]], participating in the 500&nbsp;m, 1000&nbsp;m, and [[Samalog]] events<ref name="skateresults"/> as well as in the 1000&nbsp;m event at the [[2006 South Korean Single Distance Championships|South Korean Single Distance Championships]], where he finished in fifth place with a time of 1:13.99. He participated in the last eligible race of his junior career at the [[2006 World Junior Speed Skating Championships]] in [[Erfurt]], taking first place in both the 500&nbsp;m, with a time of 35.83, and the 1500&nbsp;m, with a time of 1:49.71.<ref name="skateresults" />

==Adult career==
Prior to the [[2010 Winter Olympics]], Mo had never won a non-junior race.<ref name="skateresults" /><ref name="vancouver2010">{{cite web|url=http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-speed-skating/athletes/tae-bum-mo_ath1006548ih.html|title=Tae-Bum Mo, Speed Skating|publisher=IOC|accessdate=15 February 2010}}</ref> His first adult competition was in the [[2007 South Korean Single Distance Championships]]. He did not place in the top ten in an individual event at the [[2008–09 ISU Speed Skating World Cup|2008–09 World Cup]], finishing in tenth place overall. At the [[2009 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships]], he came in eighth place in the 1000&nbsp;m event with a time of 1:10.11, and eleventh place with a time of 1:48.07 in the 1500&nbsp;m event.<ref name="vancouver2010" />

At the [[2009 Winter Universiade]], he won the 1000 and 1500&nbsp;m events.<ref name="koreatimes" /><ref name="harbin2009">{{cite news|url=http://www.harbin2009.org/system/2009/02/22/000112293.shtml |title=Korea won the gold in Men' s 1500&nbsp;m Speed Skating |date=22 February 2009 |accessdate=17 February 2010 |location=Harbin Winter Games |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719204112/http://www.harbin2009.org/system/2009/02/22/000112293.shtml |archivedate=July 19, 2011 }}</ref>

He has a rivalry with speed skater [[Shani Davis]], who has been faster in all four 1000&nbsp;m races in the 2009–10 season. However, Mo has always been in second or third place in these races.<ref name="assocpress">{{cite news|url=http://www.incanada2010.com/canada/olympics/vancouver/news/tag/mo-tae|title=Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics|publisher=Associated Press|accessdate=15 February 2010}}</ref>

==2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics==
Mo qualified for the [[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres|500]], [[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 1000 metres|1000]] and [[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 1500 metres|1500&nbsp;m]] events at the [[2010 Winter Olympics]], and was an alternate for the [[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's team pursuit|men's team pursuit]]. He won the gold medal in the 500&nbsp;m event with a time of 34.92 for his first run and 34.90 for his second run.<ref name="vancouver2010" /><ref name="earthtimes">{{cite news|url=http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/309483,historic-win-gives-south-koreas-mo-a-golden-birthday.html|archive-url=http://archive.is/20130113061844/http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/309483,historic-win-gives-south-koreas-mo-a-golden-birthday.html|dead-url=yes|archive-date=13 January 2013|title=Historic win gives South Korea's Mo a golden birthday |date=16 February 2010|publisher=Earth Times|accessdate=17 February 2010|location=Seoul}} </ref> He won the event on his 21st birthday, and was the first Korean to win an Olympic gold medal in an event outside of short track speed skating. He beat fellow South Koreans [[Lee Kang-seok]] and [[Lee Kyou-hyuk]], who were ranked one and two in the world respectively,<ref name="earthtimes" /> and celebrated by skating around the ice with a gaudy helmet.<ref name="helmetphoto">{{cite web|url=http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-photos/mo-tae-bum-of-south-korea--speed-skating-(500m-mens)_280154g208204-o237864-Pp.html|title=Mo Tae-Bum of South Korea celebrates winning the gold in the men's speed skating 500&nbsp;m final on day 4 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics|publisher=IOC/[[Getty Images]]|accessdate=26 February 2010|location=Canada}}</ref> He also won a silver medal in the 1000&nbsp;m event, missing the gold medal, won by [[Shani Davis]], by 18 hundredths of a second, but became the first South Korean to win two medals in an event other than short track speed skating.<ref name="silvermedal2010">{{cite news|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/culturesports/2010/02/18/33/0702000000AEN20100218004100315F.HTML|title=(LEAD)(Winter Olympics) Mo Tae-bum wins silver in men's 1,000&nbsp;m speed skating |date=17 February 2010|work=Yonhap News|accessdate=18 February 2010|location=Vancouver}}</ref> Mo finished fifth at the [[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 1500 metres|1500&nbsp;m event]], with a time of 1:46.47.<ref name="espn">{{cite web|url=http://espn.go.com/olympics/winter/2010/athletes/_/id/25737/mo-tae-bum|title=Mo Tae-Bum – Vancouver 2010|publisher=ESPN|accessdate=26 February 2010}}</ref>

===Response to gold medal===
Mo had been seen as a [[dark horse]], ranked fourteenth in the world, and was surprised by his win.<ref name="koreatimes" /><ref name="earthtimes" /><ref name="reutersca">{{cite news|url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idCATRE61F0WK20100216|title=Speed skater Mo Tae-bum shocks himself with birthday gold|last=Fine|first=Larry|date=16 February 2010|publisher=Reuters Canada|accessdate=17 February 2010|location=[[Vancouver]]}}</ref> Park Pil-soon, head of the [[Korean Olympic Committee]]'s international affairs department commented, "Mo was an unknown, and his gold medal win marks the start of a new generation in South Korean speed skating after Lee Kyou-hyuk."<ref name="earthtimes" /> In an interview after the event, he described himself as a risk-taker, and expressed interests in cars and motorcycles.<ref name="reutersca" />  [[President of South Korea|President]] [[Lee Myung-bak]] sent a message congratulating Mo, calling him a "proud treasure who rewrote South Korea's speed skating history", and said that he brought jubilation to the South Korean people with his strong spirit and excellent skills.<ref name="congratulatorymessage">{{cite news|url=http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/02/16/1/0301000000AEN20100216007700315F.HTML|title=President Lee sends congratulatory message to speed skating gold medalist |date=16 February 2010|accessdate=17 February 2010|location=Seoul}}</ref>

Before the Olympics started the Korean Olympic Team held a press conference; however, he was asked few questions. He stated that, although it was disappointing, it helped him focus on the race. After the race, he personally reacted by stating that he "only imagined and dreamed about it" and saw it as a warm-up for his main event, the 1000&nbsp;m.<ref name="personalreaction">{{cite news|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/02/17/2010021700371.html|title=Mo Tae-bum Wins Korea's 1st Olympic Gold in Speed Skating|date=17 February 2010|publisher=Chosun Ilbo English|accessdate=26 February 2010}}</ref>

He received a warm welcome when he returned to Korea, and his parents greeted him with a homemade banner.<ref name="returnap">{{cite news|url=http://wintergames.ap.org/story.aspx?st=id&id=pe9642e685eeb42d7a1ba2368ce2836b7|title=Kim leads jubilant SKorean team home from Olympics|last=Hong|first=Esther|date=2 March 2010|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|accessdate=28 March 2010|location=Seoul}}</ref>

==Personal records==
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
!  Event
!  Time<ref name="speedskatingdatabase">{{cite web|url=http://www.speedskatingbase.eu/?section=main&subsection=skater&id=17231|title=SpeedSkatingBase: Tae-Bum Mo|year=2012|accessdate=11 February 2015}}</ref>
|-
|  500&nbsp;m
|  34.28
|-
|  1000&nbsp;m
|  1:07.26
|-
|  1500&nbsp;m
|  1:42.85
|-
|  3000&nbsp;m
|  3:58.05
|-
|  5000&nbsp;m
|  7:03.38
|}

==References==
{{commons category|Mo Tae-Bum}}
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 500m Speed Skating Men}}
{{Footer World Single Distance Champions 500m Speed Skating Men}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mo, Tae-bum}}
[[Category:1989 births]]
[[Category:South Korean male speed skaters]]
[[Category:Speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Speed skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic speed skaters of South Korea]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in speed skating]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for South Korea]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for South Korea]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Asian Games medalists in speed skating]]
[[Category:Speed skaters at the 2011 Asian Winter Games]]
[[Category:Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2011 Asian Winter Games]]