‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyeok (27, Yongin City Hall, photo) fixes his shoelaces once again for the gold medal he failed to win last year at the World Championships in Athletics.
At the 19th World Championships in Athletics, which opened in Budapest, Hungary on the 19th, Korea competed in a total of 4 events including male high jump Woo Sang-hyeok, men’s 200m Ko Seung-hwan (Gwangju City Hall), triple jump Kim Jang-woo (Jangheung-gun Office), and women’s shot put throw Jeong Yoo-seon (Ansan City Hall). people participate
Also, attention is drawn to Woo Sang-hyeok. In addition to winning last year’s World Indoor Championships in Belgrade (2m34), Woo Sang-hyeok recorded 2m35 at the outdoor World Championships held in Eugene, USA, and won the silver medal following the current best jumper Mutaz Esa Barsim (Qatar) who surpassed 2m37.
A gold medal at the outdoor world championships is one of Woo Sang-hyeok’s remaining goals. Woo Sang-hyeok, who has been preparing for a year, is now aiming for the gold medal. A total of 37 players compete in the men’s high jump at the World Championships in Budapest, and among them, the candidates for the championship are Barshim, Jeobon Harrison (USA), who is ranked No. 1 in ranking points this season, and Sang-hyeok Woo.안전놀이터
The World Association of Athletics Federations highlighted high jumpers on its website on the 16th and named Barshim as the most likely winner. And along with Jean Marco Tamberry (Italy) and Harrison, he mentioned Woo Sang-hyeok as a competitor to challenge Barsim. The federation explained, “Wang Sang-hyeok, who placed 4th at the Tokyo Olympics (2m35), 1st at the World Indoor Championships last year (2m34), and 2nd at the Eugene World Championships (2m35), is expected to take on a strong challenge.”
The men’s high jump will hold the preliminary round at 5:35 pm on the 20th and the final at 2:55 am on the 23rd. If Woo Sang-hyeok wins the gold medal in this event, he can engrave his name not only in Korean athletics but also in world athletics history. So far, only five athletes have won both indoor and outdoor world championships in the men’s high jump. Stefan Holm (Sweden), whom Woo Sang-hyeok regards as his idol, also failed to achieve it.
Woo Sang-hyeok showed strong determination in an open training session held at the Munhak Stadium on the 2nd, saying, “I will come back this time to win the gold medal I didn’t get last year.” He said, “I managed my weight well and the training results were good,” and “I am focused and immersed. He has the confidence to produce results,” he said.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who left for Germany on the 4th and checked his condition by going through a real fight in a German domestic competition, now moves to Budapest, the land of decisive battle, and challenges another history.