‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyeok (27, Yongin City Hall) won a silver medal in the first outdoor competition this year.
On the 6th (Korean time), Woo Sang-hyeok jumped 2m27 in the men’s high jump in the opening game of the 2023 World Athletics Federation (WA) Diamond League held at the Suheim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
Woo Sang-hyeok came second after Jubon Harrison (USA) who recorded 2m32.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who won last year’s Doha Diamond League by surpassing 2m33, failed to win a second consecutive title. However, he again surpassed the current strongest jumper Mutaz Esabarsim (Qatar), who holds the record of 2nd place (2m43) of all time.
Barshim, a gold medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and a three-time winner of the World Championships, finished third with a mere 2m24 on the day.
Woo Sang-hyeok won the runner-up in this tournament, earning 7 points required to compete in the final tournament, which is equivalent to the Diamond League ‘King of Kings’.
The race started at 2m15.
Harrison easily crossed 2m15 in the first round, and Woo Sang-hyeok and Barsim skipped 2m15.
Woo Sang-hyeok, Harrison, and Barshim all succeeded in 2m18 in the first period.
At 2m21 it was different. While Woo Sang-hyeok and Harrison passed in the first period side by side, Barshim jumped in the third period after failing in the first and second periods.
Six of the nine players who participated in the 2m21 were eliminated, leaving only Woo Sang-hyeok, Harrison, and Barshim.
Harrison, whose best record this season was 2m33, also surpassed both 2m24 and 2m27 in the first round.
Sang-Hyeok Woo hit the bar both times at 2m27, although he managed 2m24 in one run.
Barsim, who succeeded in the second round of 2m24, failed to cross the bar on all three attempts at 2m27.
Woo Sang-hyeok passed 2m27 in the 3rd period, and the championship competition was compressed into a confrontation between Woo Sang-hyuk and Harrison.
When Harrison crossed 2m30 in the first round, Woo Sang-hyeok raised the bar to 2m32, aiming for a turnaround. However, he dropped the bar on all three occasions, capping off his first contest of the season.
Harrison, who passed his first trial by 2m32, raised it to 2m35 to challenge the record alone, but finished the game as it was when he failed in the first trial.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who could not train enough due to sinusitis, won the silver medal in 2m24 at the 10th Asian Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan in February.
After returning to Korea and undergoing surgery for sinusitis, Woo Sang-hyeok improved his condition by training in Jeju Island for about 40 days. National team vertical jump coach Kim Do-kyun said that during training, he was over 2m30.스포츠토토
Woo Sang-hyeok failed to win his first competition, but overcame the bar shim to claim the silver medal, kicking off the outdoor season in a good mood.
Woo Sang-hyeok’s personal record is 2m35, set at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and last year’s Eugene World Championships.
Woo Sang-hyeok, who set the goal of winning the World Championships in Budapest in August this year and the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September, will return home on the 7th. On the 9th, he will participate in the KBS Cup National Track and Field Championships held in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, which also serves as an Asian Games selection match.