The battle between "Yeojeong vs. Ahn Chang-ok" and "Toma Goddess" begins

Aug 03, 2024

Source=Sports Chosun DB/Yonhap News

The first face-off at the Paris Olympics will begin between the strongest in Asia and the two Koreas.

'Jakarta Gold' Yeo Seo-jeong (Jecheon City Hall) and 'Hangzhou Gold" North Korea's Ahn Chang-ok will compete for Chala's medal at the Versi Arena in Paris at 11:20 p.m. (Korea time) on the 3rd.

While Simone Biles of the U.S. and Rebecca Andrad of Brazil are considered strong contenders for the title, Seo-jung Yeo and Chang-ok Ahn of the Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalists will challenge for the podium side by side. At the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, Yeo Seo-jung, the defending champion of Jakarta and the bronze medalist of the Tokyo Olympics, chose the world championship held during the same period to win a team ticket to the Paris Olympics, and the showdown did not take place. It will be the first real match at the Paris Olympics. Yeo Seo-jung, the first Olympic medalist in women's gymnastics, is trying to win her second consecutive medal in Paris.

Yeo Seo-jung and Ahn Chang-ok faced off tightly from the qualifying round for the vault. Biles scored 15.300 points, Rebecca Andrade 14.683 points, and Kerry Jade of the U.S. ranked first to third with 14.433 points, while Jordan Chiles of the U.S. ranked fourth with 14.216 points, but two U.S. players did not receive a ticket to the final as they had already confirmed their qualification. Yeo Seo-jung and Ahn Chang-ok scored 14.183 points the same as a lie.

Yeo Seo-jung, who received 14.400 points in the first period, was ranked fifth and Ahn Chang-ok was sixth, according to the regulation that the player with the higher score during the first and second periods was ahead of the game. In the final round, Carey, Yeo Seo-jung, and Ahn Chang-ok will also play a hot match for the bronze medal.

North Korean gymnastics Ahn Chang-ok, who trains for the main event,

Yeo-jeong answering reporters' questions

Versiarena is a sacred place for South and North gymnastics. In April 1992, Yoo Ok-ryul (coach Kyung Hee-dae) won the vault final of the FIG World Gymnastics Championships held here, achieving his second consecutive victory at the World Championships. Yeo Seo-jeong's father, Yeo Hong-ryul, executive director of the Korea Gymnastics Association (professor at Kyung Hee University), also ranked seventh. In the same competition, Bae Gil-soo of North Korea won the massage and won the first medal in men's gymnastics in North Korea. At the Barcelona Olympics the same year, Bae was named North Korea's first Olympic gold medalist. Expectations are high on whether Yeo Seo-jung and Ahn Chang-ok will be able to fly from Versi once again with the energy of legend, the first inter-Korean gymnastics match in 32 years in Versi.

Meanwhile, the final match between the men's Anma Heo Woong (Jecheon City Hall) will follow shortly after the final round of the women's vault. 'Maru Ace'Human Ace'Huhung, who received an Olympic opportunity when Kim Han-sol emerged just before leaving the country, scored 14.900 points in the massage preliminaries and proudly made it to the finals where eight players compete. Lee Jang-hyung of the 2000 Sydney Olympics will take the eighth turn in the final round of the event, which ranked fourth, and challenge for the podium of dreams. .

sky4us@sportschosun.com