Woo Sang-hyuk defeated 'Paris Olympic Champion' Kerr to regain the top place in indoor track and field in the world
Woo Sang-hyuk defeated 'Paris Olympic Champion' Kerr to regain the top place in indoor track and field in the world
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Korean high jump star Woo Sang-hyuk (28) has won the gold medal at the World Indoor Championships in three years. Woo recorded 2 meters and 31 meters in the final round of the men's high jump at the 2025 World Indoor Championships held at Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park in China on Sunday.
Woo, who won the 2022 Belgrade Games with a time of 2m34, finished third with a time of 2m28 at last year's Glasgow Games, but regained the championship title at this event once again. Woo became the first three-time medalist at the World Indoor Championships in 11 years since Ivan Ukov (Russia), who won back-to-back medals from 2010 to 2014.
Woo, who shouted "Fighting" at the introduction before the start of the race, lightly succeeded in the first two heights of 2m14 and 2m20. He touched the bar in the first period of the 2m24, but continued his momentum by leisurely making it through the second period.
At the competition, only six skaters were qualified to compete in the 2m28 height. Woo roared by successfully completing the 2m28 in the first period, and only two skaters from Paris were able to pass the same height in the first period.
Woo succeeded in the first leg of the race at 2m31, taking the lead. Kerr, who won the Paris Olympics and the Glasgow World Indoor Championships last year, failed in all three events of 2m31, and Oleh Doroshuk (Ukraine), who holds the world's No. 1 record (2m34) this season, also failed to overcome this height.
In the end, Kerr finished second with a time of 2m28, while Raymond Richard of Jamaica, Ilazer Koshiba of the U.S., and Dorothyuk placed third to fifth with the same record depending on the number of failures. When Woo confirmed his win, he performed his winning ceremony by wearing the Korean national flag without challenging himself to a higher record.
With this victory, Woo has achieved three consecutive wins in international competitions that he participated in this year. He won the title with his first jump of this season at the Hustopecce Indoor Championship in the Czech Republic on Feb. 9, and also won the competition with his 2m28 at the Banskavistritska competition in Slovakia on Feb. 19.
Woo, who was disappointed by his only 7th-place finish (2 meters) at the Paris Olympics, is fulfilling his commitment to "happy jump again this year." Starting with this year's World Indoor Championships, Woo is paying attention to the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province in May and the World Outdoor Championships in Tokyo in September.
Woo Sang-hyuk, who said before leaving China, "If you put on the first button well, you can put on the last button well," and "I will produce good results at the World Indoor Championships like 2022 and continue my momentum until the fall," will return home on the 22nd with the gold medal around his neck as promised. 스포츠토토