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'Smile Jumper' Woo Sang-hyeok (27, Yongin City Hall) challenges to win medals at two consecutive world championships for the first time in Korean track and field history. He was so confident that he described his desire to win as 'the gold medal he entrusted to us'.
Woo Sang-hyeok will compete at the 2023 Budapest World Championships in Athletics, which will be held in Hungary on the 19th. After undergoing intense training for about two weeks at the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province, he will leave for Europe on the 4th to adapt to the local environment.먹튀검증사이트
This is Woo Sang-hyeok, who won the silver medal at the 2022 World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon, USA last year. Having surpassed 2m35 in the men's high jump final, he came second after Mutaz Esa Barsim (32, Qatar) of 2m37.
It is the second Korean athlete to win a medal at the World Championships in Athletics, after Kim Hyun-seop. Kim Hyun-seop won a bronze medal in the men's 20km walk at the 2011 Daegu Games. At the time, he stayed in 6th place, but in a doping retest, a large number of players with banned substances were detected and rose to 3rd place.
Woo Sang-hyeok won second place, the best in Korea, at the 2022 Eugene Games, and for the first time climbed to the world championship podium and hung a medal around his neck. Now, he aims to become Korea's first medalist at the world championships twice in a row.
Prior to the Budapest Games on the 19th, Woo Sang-hyeok expressed his strong desire for a gold medal. At an open training and press conference held at the main stadium of Munhak Stadium in Incheon on the 2nd, he said, "I will definitely get a gold medal this time, which I did not get at last year's Eugene Games."
It must have been regrettable that she could not win a gold medal at the Eugene Games last year. Woo Sang-hyeok explained, "Last year, right before the tournament, I was in poor condition. I couldn't compete at the world championships in the best condition." He went on to add that "the chances of making mistakes are less likely this year because we have learned one lesson from the Stockholm Diamond League."
As of the 2nd, Woo Sang-hyuk is tied for 6th (2m33) and 4th in ranking points (1332 points) in the 2023 season record rankings. In this tournament, Barsim, who is the “strongest player in active play,” and Jubon Harrison (24, USA), who is running an undefeated streak this season, are considered Woo Sang-hyeok’s biggest competitors.
Barsim is the best active jumper with the world's second-highest record (2m43). He has won three consecutive world championships in London in 2017, Doha in 2019 and Eugene in 2022. His best this year is 2m36.
Harrison also boasts a brilliant winning career. This year's Texas Tournament (2m33), Doha Diamond League (2m32), Rome-Florence Diamond League (2m32), U.S. Representative Tournament (2m26), He reached the top in all five competitions, including the London Diamond League (2m35). Thanks to this performance, it rose to the top of the ranking points on the 18th of last month.
However, Woo Sang-hyuk rather welcomed the competition of his competitors. He said, “If I had participated in a tournament where Barshim and Harrison set good records, the result would have been different.”
Woo Sang-hyeok in the 2023 season is also showing off his formidable skills. He ranked second after Harrison in the Doha (2m27) and Florence (2m30) Diamond Leagues, and won the Seiko Golden Grand Prix (2m29) and Bangkok Asian Championships (2m28). At last year's World Championships in Eugene, he tied a personal best of 2m35, and this year he set a best of 2m33.
He has grown even more as he has accumulated a lot of experience. Woo Sang-hyeok expressed his confidence, "I had a good experience by fighting for medals at the World Championships last year and participating in many international competitions."
He currently weighs 67kg but plans to lose 2kg to fly higher. Woo Sang-hyeok said, "I managed my weight well and the training performance was good enough to make me think, 'If I endured this much, I should have won the gold medal.' I am immersed in it. I have the confidence to produce results.”
Then, he smiled and said, "Now dieting is not so difficult. I fall asleep while watching Mukbang." After laughing, he said, "I will show you how to run happily at the World Championships. If you support me, I will definitely find the 'gold medal I entrusted to you.'" told It remains to be seen whether Woo Sang-hyeok will be able to win the gold medal at the world championships, Korea's first track and field championship.