‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin City Hall) has become the first South Korean to win the World Athletics Diamond League Final.

Woo cleared 2.35 meters to win the men’s high jump at the 2023 World Athletics Diamond League Final at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on Sunday (June 17).

The moment his victory was confirmed, Woo beamed as he held up the diamond-shaped trophy.

Woo also took home $30,000 (approximately $40,000) for winning the Diamond League Final.

Second-place finisher Norbert Kowielski (26-POL) and third-place finisher Jubon Harrison (24-USA) both jumped 2.33 meters.

Woo cleared 2.15, 2.20, 2.25 and 2.29 in the first round.

Woo and Harrison were the only two athletes to clear 2.29 without a single failure.

Woo took the lead with a first-round clearance of 2.33m.

After failing at 2.25 and 2.29, Kowielski cleared 2.33 in the first period.

Harrison cleared 2.33 meters in the third period, putting pressure on Woo.

However, it was Woo who emerged as the 2023 Diamond League Final champion.

Woo Sang-hyuk roared to clear 2.35 meters in the third period, matching the outdoor Korean record he set at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (fourth) and 2022 World Championships in Eugene (second).

The Korean Association of Athletics Federations combines the indoor and outdoor records for the men’s high jump. The Korean record for the men’s high jump is 2.36 meters (indoor), held by Woo Sang-hyuk.

After Kowielski and Harrison failed to clear 2.33 meters in three attempts, Woo clinched the title.

Woo was congratulated by his competitors, including Harrison, and celebrated with a diamond-shaped trophy that he said he “really wanted to keep.”

Woo has now effectively secured his place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The standard for the Paris Games is 2.33 meters, and the qualification period is from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Woo passed the Olympic standard early.

The first Korean athlete to do so, Woo won the Diamond League Final, adding to the joy of passing the Paris Olympic standard.

Featuring some of the world’s top players, the Diamond League hosts a total of 14 tournaments a year.

Athletes are ranked based on ranking points earned in 13 events, with the 14th and final event being the ‘championship’.

The first through eighth place finishers in each event are awarded eight to one victory points based on their ranking, with the top six men’s high jumpers qualifying for the Diamond League Finals.

There are six individual Diamond League 2023 events organized for the men’s high jump: Doha, Rome-Pirence, Stockholm, Silesia, London and Zurich.

Woo competed in four of them. His second-place finishes in Doha (2.27m) and Rome-Pirenze (2.30m) earned him seven points each, but he did not record a time in Stockholm, so he did not earn any Diamond League points.

Woo added six more points with a third-place finish in Zurich, his final individual event, giving him a total of 20 points and a fourth-place finish.

This is the first time a South Korean athlete has competed in the Diamond League Final, which is considered the most important event for athletes after the Olympic and World Championships.

Last year, Woo missed the final by one point, finishing seventh.

Absent from this year’s Finals were ‘best in class’ Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Jean-Marco Tamberi (Italy), who topped the standings at the World Championships in Budapest in August.

However, six top players (including Woo Sang-hyuk), including Harrison, who has won three individual Diamond League titles this year, showed up to try to win the final. 토토사이트

The eventual winner was Woo Sang-hyuk.

Woo shook off the disappointment of finishing sixth (2.29m) at the World Championships in Budapest by lifting the Diamond League Final trophy.

“Winning the Diamond League Final was one of my life goals,” Woo said after the race, “I’m really happy and overwhelmed. Thank you to everyone who supported me, including Coach Kim Do-gyun, and everyone who lifted me up.”

Woo’s next goals are to win gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where the final will be held on October 4, and the Paris Olympics, which begin next year.

“I will not stop challenging myself,” Woo said, “and I will show a better performance at the Hangzhou Asian Games with Varsim. I will also continue my efforts to win the Paris Olympics.”

Woo, who became the first Korean athlete to win a Diamond League title, will perform a ‘ceremony’ with the winners of each event on the 18th and will return home on the 19th.