Woo Sang-hyuk ‘high jumps’ for medals with shorter hair than when he was a soldier

‘Reserve’ Woo Sang-hyuk (28, Yongin City Hall) will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics with shorter hair than he had in Tokyo 2021, when he was a soldier.

“Now that I think about it, I cut my hair really well,” said Woo, who cleared 2 meters (27 feet) in the men’s high jump preliminaries at the Stade de France in Paris, France, on Aug. 7 (local time), and qualified for the finals in third place. “I believe that cutting my hair to the level of a shaved head will see the light of day.”

Woo will go over the bars with a shaved head in the final at 2 a.m. on Nov. 11.

He cut it off himself during the Hong Kong training camp in April of this year because he was afraid it would interfere with his training. He has maintained a “shaved-level” hairstyle ever since.

“I cut my hair to jump even one centimeter higher at the Paris Olympics, and I’ve kept it until now,” Woo said, adding, “I also think of my beginnings when I shave my hair.”

It was his third Olympic Games after Rio de Janeiro in 2016 (2.26m – failed to make the final) and Tokyo in 2021 (2.35m – fourth).

At the Tokyo Games, when he became the “world’s best jumper,” Woo was still in the military (he was a member of the Korean Armed Forces Athletic Corps).

The image of him saluting the colossus with his short hair was memorable to many fans.

Woo went on to set several firsts for South Korean athletics, including winning the 2022 World Indoor Championships (2.34 meters), finishing second at the Outdoor World Championships (2.35 meters), and winning the Diamond League Final (2.35 meters) in 2023.

After his military service, Woo kept his hair “neat and short.

However, this year, the year of the Paris Olympics, he decided to shave it off, saying, “I’m not going to think about anything but high jump.”

By finishing third in the Paris qualifiers, Woo became the first South Korean track and field athlete to qualify for two consecutive Olympic Games.

For world-class jumper Woo Sang-hyuk, qualifying is now an ‘easy task’.

Woo’s dream of a medal in Paris is within reach.

Of the 12 men competing in the men’s high jump final, Woo has the third-highest personal best.

Only Tokyo Olympic co-gold medalists Mutaz Essa Barshim (2.43m, Qatar) and Jean-Marco Tambéry (2.39m) have a higher personal best than Woo.

Hamish Kerr (NZL) also has a personal best of 2.36 meters, the same as Woo.

With Jubon Harrison (USA) out of the competition, it will be a four-way battle for the title between Woo, Barshim, Tamberry and Kerr in the final.

Can Woo’s jump reach the top of the podium in Paris?

“I’ve been training with everything I’ve got,” Woo said, vowing to give it my all in the final.

South Korean athletics has produced only two Olympic medalists since the country’s liberation: Hwang Young-jo in Barcelona in 1992 (gold) and Lee Bong-joo in Atlanta in 1996 (silver).

Both medals came in the marathon, a road event.

If Woo wins a medal, which is his “minimum goal,” he will be the first Korean medalist in track and field at the Olympics in 28 years.

He will also have the distinction of being the first Korean medalist in track and field. 파워볼실시간