For Park Hye-jung (20, Ansan Technical High School), this week’s ‘beginning and end’ are strangely connected.
Park Hye-jung, who recently trains at Goyang City Hall for the unemployment team, will attend her high school graduation ceremony this Friday (February 3).
Park Hye-jeong said, “I still don’t realize that I have become an office worker. But now, I have become a weightlifter with a real salary,” she said.
Park Hye-jung received the Women’s Excellence Award at the ‘Korea Weightlifting Federation 2022 Award Ceremony for Outstanding Athletes, Groups, and Men of Merit’ held at the Olympic Parktel in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 31st. It is her last award she receives while in high school.
Her Park Hye-jung’s school days were very glamorous.
At the Asian Youth Weightlifting Championships held in Pyongyang in October 2019, when he was in the third year of Seonbu Middle School, he competed in the ‘women’s 81kg or higher class’, which only exists in the youth age group, and lifted 110kg, jerked 145kg, and totaled 255kg, lifting all three categories as youth. won with a world record.
She is in her third year of high school, and this year, she competed in the World Junior Championships held in Heraklion, Greece in May (snatch 120kg, jerk 161kg, total 281kg) and the Asian Junior Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in July (snatch 115 kg). kg, jerk 155 kg, total 270 kg).
There was no rival for Park Hye-jeong on the world junior stage. She also earned the honorable nickname of ‘She is the post Jang Mi-ran’.
In the women’s over 87kg event held in Bogota, Colombia last December, Park Hye-jeong finished 8th with a total weight of 274kg (119kg snatch, 155kg jerk).
As a sophomore in high school, she could have finished second if she lifted her personal best total of 290kg (124kg snatch, 166kg jerk) set at the 2022 National Sports Festival, but Park Hye-jung was 16kg below her personal best. lifted a low weight
However, Park Hye-jeong, who has just entered her 20s, learns from failure.
Park Hye-jung added, “The World Championships in December is a competition she entered to learn. Her motivation to work a little harder was definitely there.”
At the World Championships at the time, Li Won-won (23, China), a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and the strongest player in this weight class, took the overwhelming 스포츠토토 first place in all three categories with a snatch of 141 kg, a jerk of 171 kg, and a total of 311 kg.
The fight for second place was fierce.
Emily Campbell (29, England), who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, came in second with a total weight of 287 kg (122 kg, 165 kg for jerking), and Duangaksorn Chaidi (26, Thailand), second in the 2021 World Championships, weighed 286 kg. (126kg lift, 160kg jerk) and placed third.
Park Hye-jung confessed, “It was the first time I saw Lee Won-won in person. I train at the very end and play at the end. I really felt a spiritual energy.”
Park Hye-jung, the ‘strongest in juniors’ who had the ‘world’s strongest’ in her eyes, trained more vigorously after returning to Korea.
Her senior, Son Yeong-hee (30, Busan Sports Association), who is 10 years older than her, also gives her Park Hye-jeong a good impetus.
At last year’s National Sports Festival, when Park Hye-jung won the high school division championship with a total of 285 kg, Sohn Young-hee took the top spot with a total of 292 kg.
Park Hye-jeong said, “I watched senior Son Young-hee’s game from the stands. He is a senior I have no choice but to respect.” She said, “I competed with Son Young-hee at the World Championships last December. I learned a lot while training next to her.”
Park Hye-jung, who became an unemployed player, aims to participate in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, up to two players of the same nationality can compete in one weight class. However, at the Paris Olympics, only one athlete per country can compete in each weight class.
Ranking points for participation in the Paris Olympics were taken at international competitions such as the Asian Championships held in Jinju in May this year and the World Championships in Saudi Arabia in September.
This means that Park Hye-jung and Son Young-hee cannot avoid competition in domestic and international competitions.
Park Hye-jung, who repeatedly emphasized, “I really respect senior Son Young-hee,” said, “Starting this year, I will play as a player at Goyang City Hall and represent the country in international competitions, so I have to do my best to produce good results. I will have a fun competition with senior Son Young-hee.” .
Her goals that Park Hye-jeong has in her heart are a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and a gold medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.