‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyeok (27, Yongin City Hall) failed to hunt for the gold medal in the first tournament of the 2023 season.
Woo Sang-hyeok recorded 2m24 in the men’s high jump final at the 10th Asian Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan on the 12th, ranking second after Akamatsu Ryoichi (28, Japan), who surpassed 2m28.
Woo Sang-hyeok’s rival and ‘the best active jumper’ Mutaz Esa Barsim (32, Qatar) did not participate in the Asian tournament, and Woo Sang-hyeok was selected as ‘the number one candidate for the championship’.
However, Woo Sang-hyeok is still in the stage of raising his body.
On top of that, Akamatsu performed well, exceeding his personal best tie of 2m28, and Woo Sang-hyeok was pushed to second place.
Majdi Ghazal (36, Syria), who crossed 2m24 in the third period, won the bronze medal.
Barsim won the men’s high jump title at the Asian Indoor Championships five times in a row from the 2010 Tehran Games in Iran to the 2018 Tehran Games. However, he did not participate in this tournament.
Prior to the start of the tournament, Woo Sang-hyeok, who was considered a ‘sure candidate for the championship’, showed overwhelming performance at the beginning of the game.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who won a ticket to the finals with a single jump by crossing 2m14 in the first round in the preliminary round held on the 11th, passed 2m10 in the final with 9 players and lightly crossed 2m15, 2m20, and 2m24 in the first round.
Woo Sang-hyeok and Akamatsu were the only players who did not fail even once up to 2m24.
Woo Sang-hyeok lightly touched the bar with his hip in the 2m28 first round.
It was his first failure this season.
Woo Sang-hyeok raised the bar to 2m30 when Akamatsu succeeded in reaching 2m28 in the second period.
It was his will to aim for ‘single first place’ rather than ‘joint championship’.
The high jump is over if the athlete fails three times in a row.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who immediately raised the bar after failing once in the 2m28, failed twice in a row in the 2m30 and finished in second place.
Woo Sang-hyeok is the world’s best jumper who forms a ‘two-team structure’ with Barsim.
He built a splendid career by placing 4th at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (2m35), winning the 2022 Belgrade World Indoor Championships (2m34), and 2nd place at the 2022 Eugene Outdoor World Championships (2m35). His personal best is 2m36 indoors and 2m35 outdoor.
Woo Sang-hyeok took first place in the ranking points compiled by the World Association of Athletics Federations in 2022, and started 2023 as the world’s No. 1. 바카라사이트
His first competition is ‘Training Course’.
Woo Sang-hyeok finished 5th (2m23) at the Nech Viz Di Indoor Competition in the Czech Republic, which was his first match last year, but has since produced brilliant results.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who finished his first competition in 2023, had a sad expression when he could not exceed 2m30, but at the awards ceremony, he waved his hand with a bright expression and pledged to leap forward to the next competition.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who left for the United States on December 1 of last year and started battery training, continued training in Europe and then played his first real fight in 2023 in Kazakhstan.
Woo Sang-hyeok plans to return to Korea on the 14th, continue training in Korea, and plan to participate in the Diamond League of the World Association of Athletics Federations.
The first tournament in 2023 started with second place, but Woo Sang-hyeok is running toward the ‘real goal’ of this season to win the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August and the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September.