◆ 2024 Paris Olympics ◆
Woo Sang-hyuk, who is making a leap beyond Korea to the world, will finally make his first jump in Paris.
Woo will participate in the preliminary round of the men’s high jump at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, which will be held at 5:05 p.m. on the 7th (Korea time). A total of 31 people will participate in the preliminary round, and the final round will be held at 2 a.m. on the 11th.
Woo, who suffered from failing to qualify (2m26) at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, made his name known on the world stage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He achieved the best record in Korean track and field history, marking fourth place with a time of 2m35.
Since then, Woo has shown rapid growth. He has rewritten Korean track and field history by winning the 2022 Belgrade World Indoor Athletics Championships (2m34), ranking second at the 2022 Oregon World Athletics Championships (2m35), winning the 2023 Oregon Diamond League Final (2m35), and ranking second at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games (2m33).
Woo has also changed his status. Ahead of the upcoming competition, Woo was classified as one of the “big four” men’s high jumpers along with Jean-Marco Tamberi of Italy, Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, and Jubon Harrison of the U.S. For reference, Hamish Kerr of New Zealand, who has been on a strong rise recently, is also a leading candidate for a medal. 메이저사이트
Woo, who also served as the flag bearer for the Korean national team at the opening ceremony of this year’s event, needs to set a record of at least 2m35 to stand on the podium in a stable manner. Woo’s personal best is 2m36, which he set at the Fustopeche Indoor Pharmacy in February 2022. However, he has been showing somewhat disappointing performance lately. This year’s record is 2m33, which he set at the Fustopeche Indoor Pharmacy in February.
Woo started training to adapt himself to the local area early on last month at a pre-camp in Fontainebleau outside Paris. He recently joined the Olympic Village in Paris Saint-Denis, and is set to make his first jump in Paris.
If Woo wins a medal at this year’s event, he will become the first Korean track and field Olympic medalist. Since Korea’s liberation from Japan’s colonial rule, only two Olympic medalists have produced: Hwang Young-jo (gold) in Barcelona in 1992 and Lee Bong-ju (silver) in Atlanta in 1996. Both medals came in the marathon, a road event.
“This year’s Olympics is different from previous games. I’m very determined. I’ve played dozens of games so far, but I focused more and prepared more this time,” Woo said. “I can’t wait to participate in the games.” What will Woo do when he makes his first jump in Paris.