Woo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin City Hall) received the news that Mutaz Esa Barsim (32, Qatar) exceeded the world's highest 2m36 this season before boarding a plane back to Korea after winning a gold medal at the 2023 Bangkok Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand. 스포츠토토
Woo Sang-hyuk felt motivated, not anxious, at the leap of Barsim, the “best jumper in the field” and rival.
Woo Sang-hyuk, who met at Incheon International Airport on the 17th, said, “Barsim has returned to his old self. “It's become more interesting personally,” he said adding, “I think it's created an opportunity for me to focus more.” “I feel like the ‘invisible fight' has begun to win the Budapest World Championship,” he said.
Woo Sang-hyuk won the men's high jump final at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok on the 15th, exceeding 2m28.
As he focused on the “rank fight,” Woo Sang-hyuk, who makes his first attempt at about 2m20 in a competition involving a world-class player, made his first jump at 2m15 in the Asian Championships.
Woo Sang-hyuk easily crossed 2m15, 2m19, 2m23, 2m26, and 2m28 in the first round.
After confirming the championship, all three attempts failed in the 2m33 challenge.
High jumpers consider ‘maintaining physical strength during the game' important. The more you try, the more physical you get.
Coach Kim Do-kyun and Woo Sang-hyuk recalled, “It's a shame in terms of records,” adding, “As I focused on the ranking fight, I jumped more than before and hit 2m33 high.”
Of course, the strategy changes in games where competitors such as Barsim participate.
For now, news was heard that stimulated Woo Sang-hyuk's competitiveness.
Barsim crossed 2m36 to reach the top in the men's high jump final of the 2023 World Athletics Federation Silesia Diamond League in Silesia, Poland, on the 17th.
The 2m36 is the highest record this season, 3cm higher than the 2m33 held by South Korea's Woo Sang-hyuk, Jubon Harrison (24, USA), Joel Baden (27, Australia), Ilya Ivanuk (30), and Dani Lysenko (26, Russia).
Jean-Marco Tambury (31, Italy) and Tobias Potiye (28, Germany), who finished second and third on the day, also exceeded 2m34, and Woo Sang-hyuk was tied for fourth in the 2023 season record ranking.
Barsim won three consecutive world championships (London in 2017, Doha in 2019, and Eugene in 2022) for the first time in the men's high jump, and tied for first place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He also holds a personal best of 2m43, the second-highest ever.
At last year's Eugene World Championships, he won the championship by surpassing 2m37 and beating Woo Sang-hyuk, who is 2m35.
Woo Sang-hyuk, the first Korean athlete to win a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Athletics, will challenge for the “first gold medal” in Budapest this year.
Woo Sang-hyuk treated Barsim as the “best in the field” while at the same time saying, “You have to play under the same conditions to determine the real ranking. “If I had played in Silesia, wouldn't there have been an interesting competition?” he also expressed his desire to win.
