ethernetacademy.netWoo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin City Hall), who had hoped to become the first South Korean athlete to win back-to-back World Championships medals, ended the competition without a podium finish.
Woo cleared 2.29 meters to finish sixth in the men’s high jump final at the 2023 World Athletics Championships at the Budapest National Stadium in Budapest, Hungary, on Wednesday (July 23).
Woo’s dreams of winning a second consecutive World Championships medal were dashed when he failed to clear the bar at 2.33 meters and 2.36 meters.먹튀검증
At last year’s World Championships in Eugene, Woo cleared 2.35 meters to finish second, the best result in Korean athletics history.
In Budapest, Woo was the favorite to win.
Woo cleared 2.20, 2.25, and 2.29 in the first round and was in contention for a medal.
However, his momentum was derailed when he failed his first attempt at 2.33 meters.
With four athletes – Jean-Marco Tamberi (31-Italy), Jubon Harrison (24-USA), Mutaz Essa Barshim (32-Qatar) and Luis Enrique Sayas (26-Cuba) – clearing 2.33m in the first round, Woo no longer challenged for a medal and raised his bar to 2.36m.
In the high jump, three consecutive failures end an athlete’s competition.
Woo made two more attempts to clear his Korean record (indoor) of 2.36 meters, but touched the bar on each occasion.
Tobias Pottier (GER), 28, cleared 2.33 in his second attempt, relegating Woo to sixth place at 2.29.
Despite a seven-hour wait at the airport and a 700-kilometer overland journey after his flight was canceled in Munich, Germany, on Aug. 17, Woo finished fourth (2.28m) in the preliminary round on Aug. 20, three days later, and booked his ticket to the final with ease.
He was hoping for a better performance in the final after recovering a bit more strength and standing in front of the bar, but he was unable to make the podium.
Woo cleared 2.20m on his first attempt. He also cleared 2.25 meters on his first attempt, smiling and doing a “Popeye pose.
Only two of the 13 finalists failed to clear the 2.25-meter barrier.
The competition began in earnest at 2.29 meters.
Woo also cleared 2.29 meters in the first round. Although he slightly touched the bar, the bar did not fall.
Woo gave a thumbs up to his coach Kim Do-gyun and the crowd to show his confidence.
However, Woo failed his first attempt at 2.33 meters and his last two attempts at 2.36 meters.
After a brief moment of disappointment at the bar, Woo smiled his trademark smile and clapped for the crowd.
Tambéry cleared 2.36 meters in the first phase of the competition to beat Harrison, who succeeded in the second phase.
After her ‘victory ceremony’, Tambéry attempted 2.40m to improve her personal best (2.39m), but couldn’t even clear the bar.
Tambéry tied for first with Barshim at 2.37m at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, won the 2016 World Indoor Championships and the Diamond League Finals in 2021 and 2022, but hadn’t medaled at an outdoor world championship until last year.
In Budapest, she avenged her outdoor World Championships gold medal defeat with a gold medal.
Unable to fully shake off the lingering effects of ankle and calf injuries, Tamberly struggled to clear 2.28m in the third period of qualifying on Tuesday to reach the final.
In the final, she touched the bar on her first jump of 2.25m in the first round, but then cleared 2.29m, 2.33m and 2.36m in the first round to win the world title.
Barshim, who won three consecutive world titles in London in 2017, Doha in 2019 and Eugene in 2022, finished third with a 2.33.