Seojeong Lee (19, Suwon City Hall) finally raised the Taegeukgi at Ariake Gymnastics Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, where the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were held today (1st).
In the vaulting finals held on the same day, Yeo Jeong earned an average of 14.733 points in the 1st and 2nd rounds, placing 3rd out of 8 participants and winning a bronze medal.
The moment the bronze medal was confirmed, Seo-jeong Lee embraced national team coach Lee Jeong-sik and coach Min Ah-young and cried profusely.
The first female gymnast in Korea to win an Olympic medal was Yeo-jeong Lee.
He also became the hero of the 10th Olympic medal in gymnastics in Korea and set a record as Korea's first 'woman' Olympic medalist following his father, Hong-cheol Yeo (50), a silver medalist in the vault at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, a professor at Kyunghee University.
After wiping away her tears and smiling brightly in the common coverage area (Mixt Zone), Seo-Jung Lee said, "I've been preparing for the Olympics, so I'm very happy."
In the first period, Yeo Jeong perfectly performed the skill of 'Yeo Jeong' with a difficulty of 6.2 points named after her, and received a high score of 15.333 points, increasing her chances of a gold medal.
The score of Rebecca Andrade (Brazil), who took the gold medal on that day, was higher than the score of 15.166 in the first period, which surprised everyone.
However, the overall average fell to 14.133 points in the second stage with a skill with a difficulty score of 5.4 points.
Yeo-jeong said, "I ran so well in the first period, so I thought about doing well, so I think I made a mistake in the second period."
I did not forget to say thank you to my father for giving me advice through text messages during the Tokyo Olympics.
“After coming to Japan, I lost a lot of confidence, so I texted a lot with my dad,” said Lee Seo-jung.
Yeo-Jeong Yeo won an Olympic bronze medal with 'Yeo-Jeong', which was made by applying the technique of 'Female 2'.
'Yeojeong' is a 720-degree rotation technique that rotates half a turn less than the 'Female 2' technique (a 900-degree rotation by running vigorously and holding a chopping board with both hands, then lifting the body in the air and twisting two and a half turns).
Although the number of rotations is small, it is a difficult skill for a female athlete, so the difficulty score is high.
Seo-jeong Lee said, "Because my father was there, I felt a lot of pressure, and there were many views, but now I want to prepare harder and beat him."
First of all, he said that he wanted to rise out of the shadow of his father, who made his name out to the world, and stand tall under the name of Yeo Seo-jeong.
Professor Yeo said, "Now I want to be called Seo-jeong's father."He said, "I fully supported my daughter, who will outdo herself and grow into a bigger player."
Yeo-jeong Lee delivers the energy of the medal to Shin Jae-hwan (23, Jecheon City Hall), who will compete in the men's vaulting final tomorrow, and returns to Korea on the 3rd.
(Photo = Yonhap News)