Jo Gi-sung, who performed 'Happy Swimming' in the Paralympic farewell event, failed to advance to the final of the 50m backstroke. "I'll go back with a good memory."

Sep 07, 2024

Courtesy of the Korean Sports Council for the Disabled

Cho Ki-sung (28), who won three gold medals in swimming (50m, 100m and 200m freestyle) at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, performed a soulful reverse in his final Paralympic race. However, he remained at the bottom of the qualifying round and failed to advance to the final round.

Jo finished 14th with a time of 54.75 seconds in the men's 50-meter backstroke (Sport Grade S4) qualifying race at the Paris Paralympic Games held at La Defense Arena in Paris on the afternoon of the 7th. The men's 50m background at the Paralympics was conducted in such a way that seven athletes were assigned to each of the two groups, qualifying, and then the top eight players reached the final in the order of records.

Jo Gi-seong, who was assigned to the 7th lane of Group 2, took the current with a start signal. However, from the beginning, the distance from the competitors began to widen. From the 25m point, it was already more than 3m apart from the leading group. In the end, Jo Gi-seong was the last of the seven players to hit the touchpad.

Jo Gi-seong, who ran his last Paralympic swimming race, left the stadium with a bitter smile. Jo Ki-sung, who met in the joint coverage area (Mix Zone), thought "Before I came to the stadium today, let's enjoy the last stage without regret", but honestly, I finished fourth twice, and now the record is like this. I think it's a lie to say there's no regret." Then "But what can I do. I did my best in the current situation, and I don't think I can get out of it if I blame myself for lingering about the last part. Today is the end, and my Paris Paralympics is over, so I'll forget and get rid of it."

Originally, 50m backstroke is not the main event of premature ejaculation. To be exact, it's about 'sub'. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, he finished 14th with 53.48 seconds.

Courtesy of the Korean Sports Council for the Disabled

Still, there are some areas that have some expectations. This is because he participated in the same event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games for the Disabled held last year and won a silver medal with a record of 49.98 seconds. So at least he was expected to make it to the finals.

However, when the game began, Jo Gi-seong rarely gained speed. He "Maybe there was some damage left in the breaststroke (50m SB3) and the individual medley (150m SM4). I think there was a bit of mental damage rather than a physical problem."

Cho Ki-sung missed the bronze medal by just 0.21 seconds in the breaststroke held on August 30, and finished fourth in the individual medley on the 2nd, only 0.16 seconds behind. It was all a blink of an eye. Jo Gi-seong added "Still, I don't want to regret or blame myself for these results."

Jo Gi-seong's speed has slowed down since the middle of the race. It even felt as if he had escaped from the gap of competition alone and enjoyed swimming itself leisurely. Expressing this feeling to Jo Gi-seong, he asked why he didn't speed up after the middle of the race.

"The myth of swimming for the Korean disabled" Cho Ki-sung is expressing his feelings with a relaxed look after failing to advance to the final with a record of 14th place in the men's backstroke 50 (S4) qualifying round at La Defence Arena in Paris, France, on the afternoon of the 7th (Korea time). Paris (France) = Sports Chosun Reporter Lee Won-man

Cho Gi-seong is indeed the saying. When I first started, I felt that I didn't go forward because I put a lot of strength into my body. So as I went back, I relaxed a little and raced " Isn't this actually a chance to never come back. I tried to catch a lot of scenes in such a big mega event. So I wanted to stay in the pool for as long as possible"He explained the reason why he performed the last minute "Happy Swimming".

Then "First of all, isn't the cheering good?" I went to the Paralympics three times, but there were no spectators at the Tokyo Games because of COVID-19. I received a bigger shout this time than at the Rio Games. Thanks to you, I think I can go back to Korea with good memories," he said with a bright smile.

Now Jo Gi-seong's Paralympic swimming is all over. Jo Gi-seong may come back to swimming one day, but it will probably take quite some time. There are no plans for the 2028 LA tournament. I'm planning something different now. "I'm planning a new start as a sports psychology counselor for the disabled. I dream that I want to help by passing my experience on to other juniors," he said, expressing his willingness to make a fresh start.

This is how Jo Gi-seong's farewell stage for the Paralympics ended. However, it seems that Jo Gi-seong, who won the title of Sports Psychological Counselor, may be able to meet him on the Paralympic stage in the future. I look forward to such a day coming soon.

wman@sportschosun.com