Woo Sang-hyuk wins bronze medal in men's high jump at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

(Nagoya = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Kyung-yoon = Korea's signature high jumper, Sang-hyuk Woo (30, Yongin City Hall), the 'Smile Jumper', won a bronze medal in the men's high jump at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and succeeded in winning a medal for the third time in a row at the Asian Games.

Sanghyuk Woo won a bronze medal by clearing 2m 22m in the men's high jump finals held at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan on the 27th. It was different from his personal best record (2m36).

Woo Sang-hyuk, who skipped 1m95, 2m00, and 2m05, passed 2m10 in the first period.

On this day, there was a lot of rain at the stadium and the track was soaked, but Woo Sang-hyuk did not care and started the challenge vigorously.

He missed the 2m 14 bar in the first time, but cleared the bar cleanly in the second time.

Woo Sang-hyuk cheered with his characteristic bright expression.

Of the 13 players, 6 were eliminated because they did not exceed 2m 14, and a total of 7 players, including Woo Sang-hyeok, continued competing for the rankings.

Sanghyuk Woo raised the bar to 2m 18 and succeeded in the first time.

In 2m18, two more athletes were eliminated, including Japan's Ryoichi Akamatsu, who had a personal best record of 2m31.

The five surviving athletes, including Woo Sang-hyuk, continued competing at 2m22.

Woo Sang-hyuk, who took a powerful leap, cheered as he jumped 2m22 in the first period.

Sarvesh Anil Khusare (India) and Fu Chaoxuan (Taiwan) also exceeded 2m 22 in the first period.

And all the other players failed.

In the end, Woo Sang-hyuk, Kusare, and Fu Chaoxuan competed for the medal in 2m25.

Kusare, who jumped first, failed in the first period, and Woo Sang-hyuk also failed to clear the bar.

On the other hand, Fu Chaoxuan narrowly succeeded in the first period. My thighs rubbed against the bar, but I succeeded without falling.

Kusare also surpassed this height in the second period, and Woo Sang-hyuk failed in the second period.

In the end, Woo Sang-hyuk took the leap of raising the bar.

Even if they jumped to the same height in the third period, they would take third place because they had more attempts than their competitors.

Sanghyuk Woo could not exceed 2m28 and ended up finishing the competition in 3rd place.

Sanghyuk Woo ranked 10th at the 2014 Incheon Games when he was a high school student, won a silver medal at the 2018 Jakarta/Palembang Games with a record of 2m 28, and won a silver medal again at the 2022 Hangzhou Games with a record of 2m 33.

Meanwhile, many of the world's top athletes did not participate in this tournament.

Veteran Mutaz Essa Barsim (Qatar), the defending champion and holder of the Asian record (2m 43), was named on the roster for this competition, but withdrew just before the match.