Woo Sang-hyuk seeks ‘first-ever medal’ in Dia Final…top players absent

South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyuk will compete in the final of the World Athletics Diamond League at dawn on Sunday to determine the best of the best.

Woo finished third at the 2023 Zurich Diamond League earlier this month with a height of 2.31 meters, becoming the first South Korean athlete to reach the final.먹튀검증

The Diamond League, held 14 times a year, pits the top athletes who have accumulated the most ranking points throughout the year against each other in a final competition to determine the eventual winner.

In this year’s high jump, six athletes qualified, including Qatar’s Barshim, USA’s Harrison, and Italy’s Tamberi, while Woo finished fourth with a total of 20 points.

However, Barshim and Tamberi, the two favorites to share the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medal, withdrew from the Final.

Barshim, who has won three previous Finals, had previously cited the Hangzhou Asian Games as one of his most important goals for the year, but withdrew to rest his body.

Tambéry, who won back-to-back Finals titles and this year’s World Championships gold medal, reportedly called it quits early to focus on next year’s Paris Olympics.

Instead, three more athletes have been added, including Woo Sang-hyuk, who is tied for second with two other athletes in terms of season’s best, behind Harrison at 2m36.

Woo said that the Diamond League was his dream stage, and he was eager to win.

“No Korean athlete has ever competed in the Diamond League, and I was the only one…it was a part of my dream, so I really want to try (to win).”

If he succeeds in winning a medal, regardless of color, Woo will once again write himself into the history books of Korean athletics as a “first.