‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin City Hall) has made South Korean track and field history. He became the first South Korean athlete to win the Diamond League Final at the Feast of Stars. Woo Sang-hyuk cleared 2.35 meters in the men’s high jump at the 2023 World Athletics Diamond League Final at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on Sunday (July 17). Woo took home the $30,000 (approximately $40,000) prize for winning the Diamond League Final.
The Diamond League, which features world-class athletes, holds 14 events a year. Players are ranked based on ranking points earned in 13 events, and the 14th final event, the “championship,” crowns the winner. The first through eighth place finishers in each event are awarded eight to one victory points based on their ranking, with the top six finishers in the men’s high jump qualifying for the Diamond League Finals. 바카라
Woo Sang-hyuk was in top form on this day. He cleared 2.15→2.20→2.25→2.29 in the first round. Woo and Jubon Harrison (USA) were the only two athletes to clear the bar without a single failure until 2.29m. The upward trend continued. Woo took the lead with a first-round clearance of 2.33 meters. He overcame a height of 2.33 meters that he failed to clear at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last month.
Norbert Kowielski (POL), who had failed at 2.25 and 2.29, also cleared 2.33 in the first period. Harrison cleared 2.33 meters in the third period to put pressure on Woo. The goddess of victory smiled on Woo. He roared after clearing 2.35m in the third period, tying his own outdoor Korean record set at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (4th) and 2022 World Championships in Eugene (2nd). His rivals Kowielski (second) and Harrison (third) failed to clear 2.35 meters in three attempts. The Korean record in the men’s high jump is 2.36 meters (indoor), held by Woo Sang-hyuk. “Winning the Diamond League Final was one of my life goals,” said Woo, “I’m so happy and overwhelmed. Thank you to everyone who supported me, including my coach, Kim Do-gyun.”
Woo Sang-hyuk is already “world class. But to make his gold medal even more valuable, he’ll have to surpass Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, 32. Barshim did not compete at the Diamond League Final, so the Hangzhou Asian Games could be the stage where the true ‘wall jumper’ will be crowned. Barsim won back-to-back Asian Games titles in Guangzhou in 2010 (2.27m) and Incheon in 2014 (2.35m). Barsim injured his ankle in 2017 and missed the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.
“I will never stop challenging myself,” said Woo. “I will show a better performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games where Barsim will be competing, and I will continue my efforts to win the Paris Olympics.” The men’s high jump final at the Asian Games will be held on October 4. If Woo defeats Barshim and wins the Asian Games title, Korean athletics will have won the men’s high jump gold medal at the Asian Games for the first time in 21 years since Lee Jin-taek (Bangkok 1998 and Busan 2002).
Woo has also virtually guaranteed his place at the Paris Olympics. The standard for the Paris Games is 2.33 meters, and the qualification period runs from July 1 to June 30, 2024. Woo passed the Olympic standard early.