High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok wins first int'l title of year

Woo Sang-hyeok competes in the men's high jump at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday. [AFP/YONHAP]

High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok won his first international title of the year at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Japan on Sunday.

Woo cleared 2.29 meters at International Stadium in Yokohama and grabbed his first gold medal this year after narrowly missing the chance to do so at two previous events earlier this year — second place at both the Asian Indoor Championships in February and World Athletics Diamond League event on May 5.

Seven of the nine athletes who competed started at 2.15 meters on Sunday.

Woo, on the other hand, opted to skip 2.15 meters and cleared 2.2 meters in one attempt.

He then skipped 2.25 meters and cleared 2.29 meters in one attempt again.

Joel Baden of Australia was Woo’s biggest competitor, as he cleared 2.25 meters in two attempts and 2.29 meters in two attempts.

He failed to clear 2.35 meters in all three attempts that he challenged after skipping 2.32 meters, which won him silver and Woo gold.

Although Woo won the coveted gold, he failed to surpass his personal best of 2.36 meters that he looked to break.

“I arrived in Japan and trained after clearing 2.32 meters in last week’s Hangzhou Asian Games national squad selection contest,” Woo said during Saturday’s pre-tournament press conference. “My personal best is 2.36 meters, and I will work to clear 2.37 meters tomorrow.”

The 27-year-old’s victory, however, made Woo the first-ever Korean athlete to win gold at a Golden Grand Prix event.

This is not the first time he has become the first Korean high jumper to achieve a historic record on the international stage.

Woo finished fourth place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics two years ago with a height of 2.35 meters, setting a new Korean record and becoming the first Korean high jumper to reach an Olympics final since 1996.

Woo still holds the Korean record of 2.35 meters that he set at the Tokyo Olympics. He broke the long-standing Korean record of 2.34 meters, set on June 20, 1997, by Lee Jin-taek.

He is a two-time Olympian, having competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and Tokyo Olympics. In 2016, Woo only managed to clear the bar at 2.26 meters, failing to reach the final. In Tokyo, Woo advanced to the final, becoming the first Korean to reach the final since the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games when Lee finished eighth.

He had also racked up accolades since the Olympics, winning gold at the 2022 World Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, in March 2022 to become the world indoor champion, before he became the first Korean ever to win a World Athletics Diamond League title in Qatar two months later.

The Diamond League is the top tier of World Athletics competition, with 15 events held throughout the year.

Woo will rest for a while and head to Florence, Italy, to compete at another Diamond League event on June 2.

He will also compete at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, set to start in September.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]