SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) — Every time South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok takes the field, he seems to make history for a country that has long been starved for its first international track and field star.
Woo’s latest coup came at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Monday (local time), where he leaped into history books with his silver medal.
Woo cleared 2.35 meters to tie his own national record and finished just behind Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, who won his third consecutive world title at 2.37m. Woo’s silver is the best performance by a South Korean in any event at an outdoor world championships.
Woo, 26, is just the second South Korean athlete to win a medal at an outdoor worlds, joining race walker Kim Hyun-sub. The major difference is that Woo will get to stand on the podium in the same year in which he grabbed his medal. Kim finished sixth in the men’s 20km race walk in 2011 and moved up to bronze eight years later after three athletes above him tested positive for banned substances.
Woo started winning national junior titles a decade ago but had his first international breakout at last year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he placed fourth with a national record height of 2.35 meters. He came up only 2 centimeters shy of the co-gold medalists, Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy. It was still the best Olympic performance by a South Korean in any track and field event, and provided a glimpse into even brighter days ahead for the ascendant jumper.
And Woo has been delivering at every turn. At the beginning of this year, Woo grabbed three indoor titles, highlighted by the world indoor gold medal in Serbia in March. He followed that up with a Diamond League gold medal in May for his first major outdoor title, beating Barshim on his home soil in Qatar, and Woo sprinkled in a few domestic titles along the way.
Woo arrived in Eugene owning the world’s second-best height of the season at 2.33m. The only one ahead of him, Ivan Ivanyuk of Russia, was banned from the competition following his country’s invasion of Ukraine, while other athletes with more pedigree, such as Tamberi and Barshim, had been outperformed by Woo all year.
Woo was justifiably considered among the top contenders for gold in Eugene, and he provided a sneak preview by tying for first in the qualification stage last Friday.
The dramatic movie premiered Monday, and though it didn’t quite have the happy ending that Woo would have liked, he still left with another piece of South Korean athletics history to his name.
Despite not winning a medal in Tokyo, Woo was one of the most popular South Korean athletes coming out of the Olympics. He entered the national consciousness with his easy smile, exuberant celebrations, and “What, me worry?” approach to pressure-packed, high-stress competitions.
Over the ensuing months, Woo has proven he isn’t just a happy-go-lucky guy but is a world-class athlete whose competitive fire burned beneath that carefree facade.
Given Woo’s recent string of performances, his medal in Eugene almost had an inevitable feel to it, as if Woo was somehow destined to win a medal and only its color was left to be determined on the field.
Though Woo took silver this time, he will have plenty of chances to win the coveted gold at major events as he enters his prime.
The biennial world championships had been held in odd-numbered years, but the 2021 competition was pushed to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the next edition will remain on course and take place in 2023, followed by the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024 and another world championships in 2025.
Source: Yonhap News Agency