Woo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin Special City Hall), who won the high jump at the International Athletics Competition in Yokohama, Japan, expressed his gratitude to Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il and the citizens.
“The meticulous support of the city of Yongin and the enthusiastic support of its citizens gave me great strength to reach my goal of winning the international competition,” Woo said in a phone call to Mayor Lee on the 22nd, the day after his victory.
“At the starting line of the competition, I always think of the ‘Special City of Yongin’ on the chest of my jersey after preparing and crossing the bar,” said Woo Sang-hyuk. “The support of Mayor Lee Sang-il, whom I met before the national competition in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, gave me a lot of strength in preparing for this competition,” he said with a bright voice.
“It is unfortunate that we were unable to break the Korean record at the competition, but as Mayor Lee urged, we will maintain our current physical condition without getting injured and show good results in the remaining competitions,” he added.
“I’m proud of Woo Sang-hyuk for winning an international competition despite traveling to Doha, Qatar, Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, and Yokohama, Japan in two weeks,” said Mayor Lee.
“What’s more important than a good performance is to always be cheerful and stay injury-free,” he said, adding, “Yongin Special Self-Governing City will continue to provide close support and encouragement.”
Woo won his first world gold medal of the year at the 2023 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Yokohama, Japan, on March 21 with a jump of 2.29 meters, beating Australia’s Joel Baden.
The Seiko Golden Grand Prix is part of the ‘Continental Tour’, an international athletics competition recognized by the World Association of Athletics Federations. Woo is the first South Korean athlete to win the Golden Grand Prix.
Woo previously won silver medals at the Asian Indoor Championships in Kazakhstan in February and the World Athletics Diamond League in Doha, Qatar, on June 6.안전놀이터
He will travel from Japan to Italy on Sept. 30 to try to win the World Athletics Diamond League title in Rome, Italy, on Sept. 2.
He will also compete at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September, where he will try to win a gold medal.