'The first gateway to winning the world championship' Woo Sang-hyeok, advances to the finals with 4th place in the preliminaries
At 2:58 a.m. on the 23rd, he challenged to win the first world championship in Korean track and field history
Barsim expects a three-way race with Harrison...Korea's first medal in a row even if it is in the top three
"Smile jumper" Woo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin City Hall), who is aiming to win the first world championship in Korean track and field history, passed the first gate safely.
Woo Sang-hyuk finished fourth in the men's high jump preliminary round of the 2023 Budapest World Championships in Athletics at Budapest National Stadium in Hungary on the 20th.
On this day, Woo Sang-hyuk surpassed 2m14, 2m18, and 2m22 in the first period, and 2m25 succeeded in the second period.
He confirmed his advance to the finals by surpassing 2m28 in the first round.
37 people applied for the men's high jump preliminary round, but 36 people actually competed.
The automatic final participation record was 2m30, but 13 finalists, including joint 12th place, were decided at 2m28, and the preliminary round ended.
There were 13 players who exceeded 2m28 in the preliminary round, and four players, including Woo Sang-hyuk, exceeded 2m28 in the first round.
Woo Sang-hyuk will challenge for the championship in the finals, which starts at 2:58 a.m. on the 23rd in Korean time.
Woo Sang-hyuk, who crossed lightly as if training 2m14 in the first period in the preliminary round, easily crossed the bar at a considerable distance from the 2m18-degree bar and drew a "V" while looking at the broadcast camera.
After crossing 2m22, he shouted "Hoohoo."
Woo Sang-hyuk was not intimidated at all even after failing the 2m25 in the first round.
Woo Sang-hyuk took a "Popei posture" after succeeding in the second round of 2m25.
After crossing 2m28 in the first period, Woo Sang-hyuk smiled while wielding his right index finger. There was confidence in his actions and facial expressions.
Mutaz Esa Barsim (32, Qatar), the "best player in the world" who is seeking to win four consecutive world championships, started the game from 2m22 and finished the preliminary round with only three jumps (2m22, 2m25, and 2m28 all successful in the first period).
Jubon Harrison (24, USA), who has been undefeated this season, also surpassed 2m18, 2m22, 2m25, and 2m28 in the first round without a single failure.
Ryoichi Akamatsu (28, Japan) also passed the preliminary round with Barsim and Harrison in the first place without failure.
Woo Sang-hyuk also surpassed 2m28 in the first round, but failed once in 2m25, pushing his qualifying ranking to fourth place.
Jean-Marco Tambury (31, Italy), who tied for first place with Barsim at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, failed in the first and second rounds of 2m28 and was on the verge of being eliminated, but in the third round, he crossed the bar and received a ticket to the final as ninth in the preliminary round.
All finals start again with the same conditions.
Experts expect Woo Sang-hyuk to have a three-way race with Barsim and Harrison.
At last year's Eugene World Championships, Woo Sang-hyuk tied for first place in the preliminary round with 2m28, and surpassed 2m35 in the final and finished second behind Barsim with 2m37.
Woo Sang-hyuk reached the finals of the world championships for the second time in a row as he passed the preliminary round lightly in Budapest this year.
For a long time, "passing the preliminary round" has also been a high wall for Korean men's high jump.
Lee Jin-taek, the first Korean male high jumper to compete in the world championships at the 1993 Stuttgart Games, was eliminated from the preliminary round with a time of 2m20.
At the 1995 Gothenburg Games, Lee Jin-taek failed to advance to the finals with a time of 2m24.
Lee Jin-taek, who was so nervous, passed the preliminary round over 2m28 at the 1997 Athens Games and finished eighth with 2m29 in the final.
Lee Jin-taek also made it to the finals with a time of 2m29 at the 1999 Seville Games, and also surpassed 2m29 in the finals to finish sixth.
Before Woo Sang-hyuk appeared, Lee Jin-taek's sixth place in the 1999 tournament was the best Korean high jump record at the world championships.
Woo Sang-hyuk also suffered a setback from being eliminated from the preliminary round at the 2017 London Games, finishing only 2m22. He did not even participate in the 2019 Doha World Championships. 스포츠중계
However, Woo Sang-hyuk, who jumped to the world-class jumper starting with the Tokyo Olympics (2m35, 4th place) in 2021, advanced to the finals with 2m28 and tied for 1st place at the 2022 Eugene World Championships, and won a silver medal with 2m35 in the finals.
It was the best achievement in the world championships in Korean athletics, surpassing Kim Hyun-seop, the bronze medalist in the men's 20km walk at the 2011 Daegu Games.
Woo Sang-hyuk will mark the first milestone in Korean track and field history to win two consecutive world championship medals even if he finishes in the top three in the finals on the 23rd.
However, Woo Sang-hyuk's dream has reached a higher place.
Before leaving for Budapest, Woo Sang-hyuk said, "I will definitely find the gold medal I left."
Woo Sang-hyuk, who crossed the bar with his unique cheerful body movements in the preliminary round, took a step closer to his dream of winning the world championship.