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| Paris (France) = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com |
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| Paris (France) = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com |
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'Smile Jumper' Woo Sang-hyuk (28, Yongin City Hall)'s medal challenge ended unfortunately.
Woo Sang-hyuk recorded 2m27 in the men's high jump final at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Stade de France Stadium in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France on the 10th (Korea time). Woo Sang-hyuk finished the Paris Olympics in 7th place, failing to exceed 2m31 despite three attempts. Woo Sang-hyuk challenged for his first medal in Korean track and field. Unfortunately, I failed. Earlier, in Korean track and field, Hwang Young-jo won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games and Lee Bong-ju won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games, all of which were road events.
Woo Sang-hyuk, who first competed in the Olympics at the 2016 Rio Games, stayed at 2 m 26 and was eliminated from the preliminary round. At that time, the standard height was 2m29. He made a new history at the Tokyo Games. Since Lee Jin-taek, the men's high jump at the 1996 Atlanta Games, he has succeeded in advancing to the final round of the Olympics for the first time in 25 years as a track and field player. It wasn't the end here. In the final, he set a new Korean record of 2m35, ranking fourth, the highest in the history of Korean track and field in the Olympics.
Woo Sang-hyuk made 2m27 in the preliminary match held on the 7th, confirming his run to the finals early. Only five players exceeded 2m27, including Woo Sang-hyuk. In the preliminary round, all players over 2m29 entered the final round, and among those who did not exceed 2m29 were ranked and decided to go to the final round. Woo Sang-hyuk easily crossed the 2m15, 2m20, and 2m24 bars in the first period. The 2m27 failed in the first period, but went over the bar in the second period to confirm their place in the final. The failure in the first period of 2m27 was also due to the contraction of watching Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar), who was right in front of Woo Sang-hyuk and complained of calf muscle spasms. Woo Sang-hyuk showed off his good skills to the point where he said, "'This is the best jump of this season.'" Finished the qualifying round in third place. Woo Sang-hyuk, who made it to the finals, became the first Korean track and field athlete to make it to the finals for two consecutive Olympics.
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| Paris (France) = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com |
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"I'll stand at the highest point of running." I'm going to sing the national anthemWoo Sang-hyuk, who threw his hat into the ring, was on the final stage. Before the start of the game, it was reported that Jean-Marco Tamberi of Italy, a powerful 'medal rival', was taken to the emergency room. Tamberi shared a gold medal with Varsim at the last Tokyo Games and won the last European Championships with a record of 2m37, this season. Tamberi played, but there were several grimaces in the warm-up scene.
Woo Sang-hyuk, who entered with his unique bright and confident appearance, stepped up as the first runner. Despite the pressure of his first attempt, Woo Sang-hyuk easily exceeded 2m17. Barshim and Tamberi crossed 2m17. The second 2m22. Woo Sang-hyuk jumped at once. I couldn't help saying that I was relaxed. Woo Sang-hyuk lay down and took a rest. Tamberi was certainly not at the top, with favourites such as Barsim, Shelby McCuan (USA) and Hamish Kerr (New Zealand) crossing this height without difficulty. I managed to get over it after the third attempt.
2m27 was the first hurdle. Woo Sang-hyuk touched the bar for the first time on the day in the first period. Woo Sang-hyuk also failed in the first period of 2m27 during the preliminary round. There was no second failure. As he did in the qualifying round, he made a clean success in his second attempt this time. Tamberi, like qualifying, failed to get over this height and was eliminated. Jan Stefela (Czech Republic) and Romain Beckford (Jamaica) also packed in the 2m27.
It was a real match from now on. Woo Sang-hyuk was the first to challenge for 2m31. Unfortunately, the first period was a failure. The second period also failed to pass. Except for Barsim, McCuan and Roich Akamatsu, other players also struggled at this height. Woo Sang-hyuk finally failed in the last period of his fate. Still, he smiled broadly.
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| Paris (France) = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com |
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Woo Sang-hyuk has been preparing for an Olympic medal for a long time. Woo Sang-hyuk's eyes were only on the Paris Olympics, as he set the first milestone in Korean track and field after winning the 2022 World Indoor Championships (2m34), the 2nd place in the outdoor World Championships (2m35), and the 2023 Diamond League Final (2m35). Woo Sang-hyuk said, `All the training and competition over the past three years have been prepared to win a medal at the Paris Olympics.' `I don't care about anything but the high jump.'He shaved his head with the desire that " His hair was shorter than at the Tokyo Games, where he participated as a soldier.
Woo Sang-hyuk successfully completed the Paris project. Woo Sang-hyuk, who trained in Hong Kong from March to April, focused on the actual game from May to June. The 52nd KBS Bae National Athletics Championships in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, What Gravity Challenge in Doha, Qatar, the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, Japan, and the Taiwan International Athletics Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. It was a ups and downs grade, but as it was a process, I didn't care. After all the competitions, he focused on speeding up and weighting at his own pace in Korea. After finishing training in the Czech Republic, a pleasant place where he set his personal best in June, he entered Paris, a battleground. On the 14th of last month, he entered the pre-camp 'Team Korea Paris Platform' set up at the French National Defense Sports Center (CNSD) in Fontainebleau, outside Paris, and joined the athletes' village on the 4th after focusing on training for three weeks. "I hope the game starts soon."It was thoroughly prepared to say ".
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| Paris (France) = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com |
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But again, the Olympic medal wall was high. I spent three years preparing for the Olympics with blood and sweat, but I couldn't get past the last moment. "I'll fly the highest in the Olympics."Woo Sang-hyuk's dream of " also flew away.
vanbasten@sportschosun.com
