Ha Jee-min misses men's dinghy final after weather cuts qualifiers short

Olympic Sports

Ha Jee-min misses men's dinghy final after weather cuts qualifiers short

Published: 06 Aug. 2024, 15:37

Korea's Ha Jee-min, left, participates in a men's dinghy race during the 2024 Paris Olympics on Saturday in Marseille, France. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea's Ha Jee-min failed to make the men's dinghy medal race at the Paris Olympics Monday, finishing 26th in a pool of 43 and ending the delegation's sole shot for a spot on any sailing podium in Marseille, France.

Ha's bid for a spot in the 10-man medal race was officially cut short after the ninth and 10th qualifying races were canceled due to poor weather Monday, with the highest-placed sailors as of Race 8 making the final list.

The early end to the dinghy qualifiers sealed the fate of the 35-year-old Korean seafarer, who will leave his fifth straight Games empty-handed.

Ha made his Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has placed higher on the final standings every year, starting at 28th in the men's one person dinghy in Beijing to 24th in the same event at the 2012 London Olympics and then 13th in Rio in 2016 followed by seventh in a different event, men's laser, in Tokyo in 2021.

But he failed to best his Olympic record to finish in 26th.

Bad weather in France has disrupted several events in Paris. The men's skiff medal race was canceled twice due to poor wind, and triathlon training sessions were postponed over the water qualify of the Seine River after rain.

Ha did see success in the Mediterranean, winning Race 7 on Sunday, which would be the final day of the men's dinghy qualification round. He finished with a time of 38 minutes and 11 seconds, seven seconds ahead of Milivoj Dukic of Montenegro in second place.

That combined with a 22nd-place finish in Race 8 put Ha at No. 26 overall with two races left to go in Marseille on Monday before the final on Tuesday, though the points deficit made it highly unlikely that Ha had any chance of breaking into the top 10.

BY MARY YANG, JIM BULLEY [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]