Swim Jo Gi-seong, who wept at only 0.16 seconds'My defeat', Paris was too harsh for him

Sep 02, 2024

Cho Ki-sung hit the touchpad at 2:37.45 in the final of the men's 150m individual medley SM4 held at La Defense Arena in Paris, France, early on the 2nd (Korea time). He was only 0.16 seconds behind Mexico's Camacho Ramirez (2:37.29), who finished third, and failed to win a medal. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

"I lost the touch fight twice. It's because I'm not good enough."

0.21 seconds and 0.16 seconds. One quick blink of an eye gives you this amount of time. It's an instant. However, this difference may determine whether the Paralympic medal will be won or not. The winning side by this margin is heaven's luck, but the losing side hits the ground and deserves to be disappointed.

But what would you think if you experienced this kind of defeat twice. Jo Gi-seong (28), who competed in swimming at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, said. At this Paralympics, Jo suffered from missing the medal, losing twice to the `moment of the moment.' Paris left Jo Gi-seong with too much pain.

I deserve to be angry and angry. But the early stage was different. He calmly admitted his defeat and blamed himself for his lack of preparation. Although he did not win a medal in Paris, Jo showed the true nature of sportsmanship, which calmly accepts defeat at its best.

The men's individual swimming 150m sports grade SM4 final at La Defense Arena in Paris, France, took a touchpad at 2:37.45 in the early morning of the 2nd (Korea time). He was only 0.16 seconds behind Mexico's Camacho Ramirez (2:37.29), who finished third, and failed to win a medal. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Jo Gi-seong hit the touchpad at 2:37.45 in the final of SM4 in the men's 150m individual swimming medley held at La Defense Arena in Paris, France, early on the 2nd (Korea time). He was only 0.16 seconds behind Mexico's Camacho Ramirez (2:37.29), who finished third, and failed to win a medal.

I went through something similar three days ago. In the 50m breaststroke (SB3 grade) held at dawn on the 30th, he recorded 50.73 seconds, 0.21 seconds behind Spain's Miguel Luque (50:52), and also finished fourth.

This sometimes happens in swimming, which is an accurate record event. So the cognitive prematureness resolutely accepted defeat. After the 150-meter individual medley race on the 2nd, Jo Gi-seong, who met in the mixed zone (joint coverage area), said "I couldn't check the record accurately, but I heard I lost." I was toldHe said "Anyway, you lost."I swallowed my regret inward.

Jo Gi-seong blamed himself. "I lost both of the touch fights. It's because I'm not good enough. I prepared a lot, too, but the third-place (Mexico) player probably tried more than I did." It was a cool-headed and objective evaluation. No more words can explain this 'just my defeat'.

Still, there is still a chance. On the afternoon of the 7th, he will participate in the men's 50m backstroke (grade S4) qualifying round. It is the last race of the Paralympic Games by Cho Ki-sung. He said he would put down the national team after this tournament. I want to relieve the burden of leading swimming for the disabled.

Jo Gi-seong "Originally planned to win a medal in advance and play in the final game comfortably. Backstroke is not my main event. As it was the last Paralympics, I applied for backstroke, not the main event, because I wanted to enjoy it"I'll do my best, but I don't think I can tell you that I'm enjoying it." I tried to accept 'My defeat' with calm and determination, but the regret that I couldn't digest it with my heart came out.

Jo Gi-seong ended up in tears. He said "It's been very hard while representing the national team. As he won three gold medals at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, he felt a lot of pressure to lead the Paralympic medal. "Last year's world championship victory increased his desperation and desire for a Paralympic medal. I think it was a failure to get rid of it. I had a lot of expectations because my body was much better than in the 2020 Tokyo Games. I wanted to give (Bae Hyung-geun) a medal, but it's a pity." 'My defeat at the moment' is likely to remain in the memory of prematureness for quite some time.

Paris (France) = Reporter Lee Won-man wman@sportschosun.com

wman@sportschosun.com