‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyeok (27, Yongin City Hall) is leaving for Doha, Qatar with the dream of winning the ‘Doha Diamond League for the second consecutive year’.

Woo Sang-hyeok moved his steps to the departure hall of Incheon International Airport late in the afternoon of the 2nd.

The flight to Doha takes off at 1:30 am on the 3rd.

Woo Sang-hyeok met with reporters before leaving the country and said, “The Paris Olympics will be held next year. If you spend this season well, you can run well toward your goal (winning the Paris Olympics) next year.” I have to put the first button well so that I can play the rest of the season well. I want to get good results in Doha.”

Woo Sang-hyuk will play his first outdoor game of the year in the opening series of the 2023 World Athletics Federation Diamond League held at Doha SC Sports Club on the morning of the 6th (Korean time).

He competed at the 10th Asian Indoor Track and Field Championships in Kazakhstan on February 13, after failing to train enough due to sinusitis. At that time, Woo Sang-hyeok surpassed 2m24 and ranked second after Ryoichi Akamatsu (Japan) of 2m28.

After returning to Korea and undergoing sinusitis surgery, Woo Sang-hyeok trained for about 40 days in Jeju Island. He decided to play his first outdoor game this year at the Doha Diamond League and devoted himself to training.

In his first outdoor match of the year, he will wear the ‘defending champion’ armband.

On May 14 of last year, Woo Sang-hyeok won the 2022 Diamond League opening game held in Doha, ‘Barsim’s home’, by beating Mutaz Esa Barsim (Qatar), the ‘best jumper in active life,’ who jumped 2m30 over 2m33.

He reached the top in the Diamond League, his first appearance, and changed the history of Korean track and field.

Woo Sang-hyeok, the first Korean player to win the Diamond League championship, wants to set another milestone this year with his second consecutive victory in the Doha Diamond League.

Woo Sang-hyeok is expected to compete for the championship with world-class players such as Barshim and Joobon Harrison (USA), who ranked first in the men’s outdoor high jump this season.

In the men’s high jump, a total of nine players, including Woo Sang-hyeok, will compete.

Woo Sang-hyeok holds the third-highest personal best in outdoor events among participants.

Woo Sang-hyeok’s personal best in outdoor games is 2m35, achieved at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics (4th place) and the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA (2nd place).

Barsim is the best active player with a record of 2m43, second only to Javier Sotomayor (2m45, Cuba) in the world.

Harrison’s personal best in outdoor events is 2m36. Woo Sang-hyeok also surpassed 2m36 in an indoor game.

Harrison surpassed 2m33 this season and tied with Joel Baden (Australia) for first place in the world rankings based on record.

Shelby McEwan (USA), Django Lovett (Canada, individual best of 2m33), Edgar Rivera (Mexico), Shinno Tomohiro (Japan, over 2m31), Norbert Kobilski (Poland, 2m28), Thomas Kamoi (Belgium, 2m27) also participate

Woo Sang-hyeok said, “Last year, we stayed with Barshim and faced each other several times (three times), but we won once in Doha. To beat Barshim at the Olympics and World Championships, we have to win in other competitions.” I want to do,” he said.

He smiled brightly, saying, “When I meet Barsim, he will tell me, ‘Did you prepare well? I prepared well. Let’s all set a good record today.

The Diamond League, in which world-class players compete, holds a total of 14 competitions a year.

The ranking is determined by the ranking points accumulated in 13 competitions, and the ‘final winner’ is determined in the 14th competition, which is equivalent to a ‘championship’.

This year’s Diamond League Finals Series will be held in Eugene, Oregon, USA on September 17-18.

1st to 8th places in each tournament receive 8 to 1 points. The top six finishers in the men’s high jump qualify for the Diamond League Final Series.

The 2023 Diamond League, which organized the men’s high jump, will be held in Doha, Rome/Florence (June 2), Stockholm (July 2), Silesia (July 16), London (July 23), Zurich (August). 31) There are a total of 6 events including competitions.크크크벳

Last year, Woo Sang-hyeok participated in the Diamond League only three times, accumulating a total of 16 ranking points, and missed out on the right to advance to the final series, which six players gained, being beaten by one point by Andriy Prochenko (Ukraine), who ranked sixth with 17 points.

Woo Sang-hyeok considers the most important events this year to be the Budapest World Championships in August and the Hangzhou Asian Games in September.

However, he is also motivated to win the Diamond League Final Series, which he failed to achieve last year.

Woo Sang-hyeok plans to get the highest possible score in the opening game of the Diamond League this season and come up with a ‘playing strategy’ to advance to the final series.

Woo Sang-hyeok said, “I enjoy playing in games. I plan to play in the Diamond League more often this year.”