'Lead World's No. 3 Confidence'Seo Chae-hyun, who finished bouldering at No. 13, can rise upside down from the lead"

Aug 06, 2024

On the 6th (Korea time), the women's combination bouldering semifinal race was held at the Saint-Denis-le-Burge Sports Climbing Stadium near Paris, France. South Korea's Seo Chae-hyun competed in the combine event, which is played only by lead and bouldering. Seo Chae-hyun is delighted to leave the stadium after climbing the second course. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.6/

On the 6th (Korea time), the women's combination bouldering semifinal race was held at the Saint-Denis-le-Burge Sports Climbing Stadium near Paris, France. South Korea's Seo Chae-hyun competed in the combine event, which is played only by lead and bouldering. Seo Chae-hyun is climbing the second course. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.6/

"I think I can turn it around in the lead."

It was the smile of sports climbing Seo Chae-hyun (Seoul City Hall, North Face). Seo Chae-hyun ranked 13th with 44.2 points in the women's semi-final bouldering at the 2024 Paris Olympics Sports Climbing Combine (Bouldering + Lead) held at Le Bourget Climbing Stadium in Paris, France on the 6th (Korea time).

Combine determines medal rankings by summing the scores of lead and bouldering scores (out of 200). Bouldering is an event in which various artificial structures installed on a 4.5-meter-high rock wall must be passed within a set time. There are a total of 4 questions, and you need to grab certain holds that are twisted like puzzles to score points. Each time the number of attempts for each hold increases, 0.1 points are deducted. Creativity to solve problems is as important as flexibility and muscle strength. Lead is an event that catches artificial structures (protrusions and holds) installed on a 15-meter-high rock wall and climbs the highest in six minutes.

Seo Chae-hyun did not reach the 10-point hold in the first question, which many players found difficult to target. It was only 5.0. In the second question, he succeeded in finishing the race in two times. In the third question, where he grabbed a 25-point hold in just four players, he conquered a 10-point hold and scored 9.7. Seo Chae-hyun, who unfortunately scored only 4.7 points in the last question, finished the game with 44.2 points.

On the 6th (Korea time), the women's combination bouldering semifinal race was held at the Saint-Denis-le-Burge Sports Climbing Stadium near Paris, France. South Korea's Seo Chae-hyun competed in the combine event, which is played only by lead and bouldering. Seo Chae-hyun is playing. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.8.6/

Seo Chae-hyun, whom I met after the game, said "I'm a little disappointed, but I think I've overcome the problem of a style that doesn't fit well." Then "First of all, I think it was definitely more difficult than the Olympic qualifying round. There have been many problems of running far or doing complex movements at the same time. Still, considering this, I don't think it was bad.'

There is a chance left. You can get a good score in the lead on the 8th. The final round will be determined by bouldering, lead, and combined score, and must be in the top eight. As the semi-final score is not reflected in the final, once you reach the final, you can try to win a medal. Seo Chae-hyun has strength in the lead. He is third in the lead world. Seo Chae-hyun expressed confidence, saying, `I can turn over and go up from the lead of the boulders.'

Seo Chae-hyun, dubbed the `Women's Shindong', appeared on the senior stage hotly, winning four gold medals in the 2019 IFSC World Cup Series lead event, which she competed in at the age of 15. Seo Chae-hyun, who unfortunately missed the medal at the Tokyo Games, won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year and is aiming for her first career 'Olympic medal' in Paris, her second Olympic stage. Seo Chae-hyun "I've definitely improved a lot in terms of muscle strength than then. I couldn't show you finishing the bouldering now, but this time, I think I finished the bouldering and defended well.'

Seo Chae-hyun's father is Seo Jong-guk, the head coach of the sports climbing team at the Paris Olympics. Seo Chae-hyun said "Olympics feel more pressure than other competitions, but don't think so and think "It's no different from other World Cups" and have fun. It was so much fun."

vanbasten@sportschosun.com