‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyeok (27, Yongin City Hall) unfortunately finished runner-up in the first competition of the new year.
Woo Sang-hyeok won the silver medal in the men’s high jump final at the 10th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan on the 12th with a record of 2m24 (1st period). The gold medal was won by Ryoichi Akamatsu (Japan) who surpassed 2m28 (1st period). Mazdi Ghazal (Syria), who surpassed 2m20 in the first period and 2m24 in the third period, won the bronze medal.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who ranked No. 1 in the men’s high jump world rankings by winning four consecutive international competitions, including winning the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade last year, and runner-up at the Eugene World Championships (outdoor), following fourth in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, aimed for a golden jump in the first competition of the new year, but his It was regrettable that it fell short of the personal best record of 2m36 indoors. Woo Sang-hyeok won the gold medal at the 2017 Asian Championships (outdoor), but has yet to win an indoor competition.
On this day, nine players competed in the finals, starting from 2m10. Woo Sang-hyeok, who jumped 2m14 with just one jump in the preliminary round the previous day, skipped 2m10 and started with 2m15.
On this day too, Woo Sang-hyeok, who shouted “let’s go” and jumped, easily jumped 2m15, 2m20, and 2m24 in the first round.
Woo Sang-hyeok competed for the last time with Akamatsu, who, like himself, surpassed all 2m24 in the first period. Woo Sang-hyeok바카라사이트, who failed in the first round at 2m28, raised the bar to 2m30 without challenging Akamatsu in the second round when Akamatsu overcame 2m28. However, Woo Sang-hyeok dropped the bar both times in the 2m30 challenge and drank a bitter cup. It was regrettable that Akamatsu could not exceed 2m30 until the 3rd period. It was all the more so because Mutaz Esa Barsim (Qatar), who is forming a rivalry with Woo Sang-hyeok, did not participate in this tournament.
Woo Sang-hyeok said after the match, “I prepared hard for the first tournament of the season, but there was a difference between preparing well and the result of the game.” He added, “You just have to raise the record gradually. Rather, by placing second in the first game, I gained new motivation and a desire to win. I will do my best to prepare well and show a better image this season.”
Jeong Yoo-seon (26, Ansan City Hall) threw 16m98 in the women’s shot put final the day before, and she became the first Korean player to win a gold medal in this event. Lee Soo-jeong (30, Seogwipo City Hall) also recorded 16m45 and won her silver medal.
So far, Korea has sent only a handful of players to this event and has had few medals. Previously, Choi Yoon-hee, who won the silver medal in the women’s pole vault at the 5th Hangzhou Games in China in 2012, was the only medalist, but in this event, eight athletes were dispatched, and Yu Gyu-min (22, Iksan City Hall) won the bronze medal in the men’s triple jump. held a medal march.