Legendary Jeon Min-jae, 7th place in the women's 100m final in track and field for 5 consecutive Paralympics

Sep 05, 2024

"Korea Para Athletics Legend" Jeon Min-jae (47, Jeonbuk Para Athletics Federation) reached the final of the women's 100m (sports grade T36) at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in Stade de France, France, early on the 5th (Korea time) and ranked seventh. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Jeon Min-jae (47, Jeonbuk Association of Athletics Federations), who has won five consecutive Paralympics competitions, reached the final in the women's 100m (sports grade T36) at the Paris Paralympics in 2024 and ranked seventh.

In the women's 100m final at the Paris Paralympic Games held in Stade de France in Paris, France, Jeon Min-jae ranked seventh with a time of 14.95 seconds.

From the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games to Paris, Jeon Min-jae has performed at the Paralympic Games for five consecutive times. deserve to be called a 'legend' Originally, he was going to retire after the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games for the Disabled. However, due to the dissuasion and persuasion of those around him, he also participated in the Paris Paralympics. This is because there is no ace to replace Jeon Min-jae.

Jeon Min-jae was determined to pour out his last energy at the Paralympics. In fact, it was said that this was the last Paralympic Games. He developed brain lesion disorder at the age of five due to encephalitis of unknown cause. As a result, it is difficult to communicate and write with your hands. Enter letters into your smartphone and communicate with others.

Jeon Min-jae then revealed his future through a post he had written on his smartphone in advance. "The last thing I want to say is that Minjae Jeon intends to do only the 2026 Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games for the Disabled. That's really the last time. This is because Jeon Min-jae is the athlete who can win a medal on the track. So I'm not going to retire. That's exactly when it's the last time. Please remember Jeon Min-jae until then."

After all, this was Jeon Min-jae's last Paralympic Games. Although Jeon was seventh in the final, he still showed promise in the record. He clocked 14.69 seconds in the preliminary round, just 0.01 seconds behind the personal best of 14.68 seconds set at the 2019 Dubai World Championships. Even in his late 40s, he maintained a pace almost similar to the record set five years ago.

However, after the game, Jeon Min-jae made a shocking statement. To be precise, it released a statement-like article. Jeon Min-jae wrote down what he wanted to say on his smartphone and sat on the floor outside the stadium and pressed the play button with his big toe. It was to convert the letter written on the smartphone into voice and tell the reporters. When I told the story of my father's death in April, I cried with my head down.

Jeon Min-jae said, `My father, who always cheered me up and shouted 'my (former) Min-jae is the best' and is not around now and must be watching from the sky, but I wanted to give him a medal as a gift.' He added, `I wanted to reward those who cheer for me by winning a medal because I thought it would be my last Paralympic Games, but I have a lot of regrets.'

"Korea Para Athletics Legend" Jeon Min-jae (47, Jeonbuk Para Athletics Federation) is showing a smartphone that wrote that it was difficult to prepare for the Paralympics because he was unfairly treated by an official of the Athletics Federation after finishing seventh in the women's 100m (sports grade T36) at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

The reason why Jeon Min-jae said 'There is a lot of regret left' is that he thinks he was treated unfairly during the training process. Jeon Min-jae argued that `a member of the Athletics Federation was unreasonably personal and excluded essential living assistance from training, so the issue of erosions was large.' Jeon Min-jae's mother has been a living aid for a long time.

Jeon Min-jae said, "I couldn't join this year because I was uncomfortable with my hands and couldn't speak, so I couldn't do it because one of the executives of the Athletics Federation strongly opposed it"It was a very unfair situation from my point of view. The federation, which has to be more considerate of the players and considerate of the players than anyone else, unreasonably with personal feelings for some reason 'Jeon Min-jae can do enough alone without living assistance' My intention was not reflected at 1%, but my mother could not come in as living assistance because she opposed it only with the authority of the executive" he revealed.

In response, national team coach Jang Sung-joon said, `There were many national team players, so there was a budget part"Our leaders did their best to care for the players' needs, but we know that no help can be as convenient as the family."

wman@sportschosun.com