Asian Games preparations are a family affair for sport climber Seo Chae-hyun

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Asian Games preparations are a family affair for sport climber Seo Chae-hyun

Sport climber Seo Chae-hyun, right, poses with her father and coach Seo Jong-kuk. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Sport climber Seo Chae-hyun, right, poses with her father and coach Seo Jong-kuk. [JOONGANG ILBO]

 
Former world champion and two-time Asian champion sport climber Seo Chae-hyun's quest to medal in the upcoming Asian Games and the 2024 Olympics is a family affair, with her father Seo Jong-kuk continuing to work as her primary coach.
 
“I'm supposed to call my dad Coach Seo, but I skip ‘coach’ because it's awkward,” the younger Seo told the JoongAng Ilbo at Seojongkuk Climbing Gym in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul on March 6.  
 
The 19-year-old climber, already a former world champion and an Olympic finalist, is a member of the Korean national climbing team and has been training with her father, who was appointed as the head coach of the Korean national team after the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
 
Seo senior took charge of the team in October 2021 and has continued to work his daughter, who he has coached since she was young. A parent working with their own child on the national team is rare, although the Seos aren't the only ones — Korean basketball legend Hur Jae, then national basketball team head coach, coached both of his sons Heo Ung and Heo Hoon.
 
Seo Jong-kuk says he's aware of the optics when a parent ends up coaching their child, but thinks Seo Chae-hyun's success on the wall speaks for itself.
 
“Chae-hyun would not have learned from me if she had not improved," he said. "She would have gone to a different coach if that was the case.”  
 
Seo Chae-hyun won a gold medal at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (ISFC) World Championships in 2021, before winning two golds in the ISFC Climbing Asian Championships last October — one gold in combined and the other in lead.  
 
Seo Chae-hyun competes in the final of the ISFC Climbing Asian Championships on Oct.16, 2022 at Seocho District, southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

Seo Chae-hyun competes in the final of the ISFC Climbing Asian Championships on Oct.16, 2022 at Seocho District, southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

 
Sports climbing has three disciplines: Speed, bouldering and lead. 
 
In speed, athletes compete to climb an identical 15-meter (50-foot) wall set at an angle of 95 degrees faster than their opponents.
 
In bouldering, athletes climb different routes without ropes within four minutes. The routes vary in difficulty and athletes do not get to see them in advance.
 
In lead, athletes attempt to climb as high as they can on a 15-meter wall within six minutes.
 
Combined is a combination of all three and is a contentious discipline as most climbers are not normally trained across all three forms. Seo Chae-hyun used to struggle in combined because she is a precision climber not a speed climber, performing far better in lead and bouldering than speed.
 
Recently some tournaments have started to exclude speed from combined events, a decision that has worked in Seo Chae-hyun's favor. 
 
Both the Asian Games and Olympics will exclude speed from the combined discipline, making Seo Chae-hyun a serious medal contender at both events.  
 
Her biggest competitors are Ai Mori of Japan and Janja Garnbret of Slovenia.  
 
“She has reinforced her lower-body strength since it is necessary in big movements in bouldering," Seo Jong-kuk said. "The heaviest she could lift was 24 kilograms (54 pounds) but raised it to 42 kilograms (93 pounds). She does pull-ups with four 10-kilogram (22 pounds) circular dumbbells."  
 
Seo Chae-hyun, who weighs 51.5 kilograms (115.7 pounds) and stands at 1.63 meters (5.3 foot), avoids a strict diet when in training, opting instead for a typical calorie-heavy teenage diet of fried chicken and tteokbokki (rice cakes in a spicy sauce).
 
“I used to gain 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) after a competition because I was a foodie," Seo Jong-kuk. "I let Chae-hyun eat what she wants. She eats brunch on her own at 10 a.m. and has two meals around 5 p.m., with the food she likes." 
 
Seo Jong-kuk was a member of the Korean national ice climbing team from 2013 to 2019. The two Seos collectively are nicknamed Spider Father and Spider Daughter, a nod to Seo Chae-hyun's nickname Spidergirl.
 
“My daughter is calm and does not hesitate like me,” Seo Jong-kuk said. “Chae-hyun does not get nervous as she is from Gen Z. We often compete each other, but if I could be like her, I would have been a serious competitor instead of a coach.”  
 
Seo Jong-kuk took his daughter in a baby carrier and reached the apogee of a mountain with her when she was seven months old.
 
Seo Jong-kuk, right, and Seo Chae-hyun [SEO JONG-KUK]

Seo Jong-kuk, right, and Seo Chae-hyun [SEO JONG-KUK]

 
Seo Chae-hyun still isn't afraid to step away from the climbing wall. She reached the summit of La Rambla in Spain last November, becoming the first Asian female to do so.
 
The mountain’s rock face is 41 meters (135 feet) high with a consistent overhang, making it an extremely technically difficult climb. 
 
“It was my dream and I reached the summit after seven attempts,” Seo Chae-hyun said.
 
Climbing has always been a part of the younger Seo's life.
 
“She has been on climbing adventures with me, visiting the United States or Greece, since she was a fifth-grader,” Seo Jong-kuk said. “Climbing has become a sport, but the nature of it is rock-climbing and there is a lot to learn in nature. I let her enjoy it naturally rather than forcing her to achieve her parents’ unfulfilled dream.”  
 
Seo Chae-hyun received a three-year scholarship as she topped her class in Seoul Shingjeong High School in Gangseo District, western Seoul, but chose not to attend university last year.  
 
“I was not able to study while I had to be overseas for three to four months in a year. I like science, so I hope to major in sports science in university someday,” Seo Chae-hyun said.  
 
Seo Chae-hyun's mother Jeon So-yeong is also a climber, having met the elder Seo at his climbing club and also competed for the national climbing team.  
 
“My wife and my daughter are my students,” Seo Jong-kuk said. “I hope Chae-hyun’s future boyfriend likes climbing too. My dream is to go on a rock climbing trip as a group of four.”  

BY PARK RIN [paik.jihwan@joonang.co.kr]
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