[National Sports Festival] 'Thor' Park Si-hoon "This year marks a new beginning... I want to fill in the gaps."

Silver medal in first appearance in general shot put... “I set a personal best record, but it’s disappointing.”

(Seogwipo = Yonhap News) Reporter Choi Song-ah = One of the names most heard in the domestic track and field world this year was Park Si-hoon (Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall).

Park Si-hoon, born in 2007, holds all Korean records for shot put at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, earning the nickname 'Thor' through his outstanding performance on the international stage this year.

He won the U-20 Asian Championships held in Hong Kong in May by setting a new U-20 Asian record (20m65, shot put weight 6kg), and in August, he threw 20m31 at the World Athletics (WA) U-20 World Championships, becoming the first Korean athlete to win a silver medal at the event.

Expectations were high on the adult stage as well, with the 7.26kg shot put, but at last month's Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, he placed 12th and felt the barrier.

And at the 107th National Sports Festival held at Gangchanghak Stadium in Seogwipo on the 19th, he made his debut in the general division and won a silver medal (18m 28) following Sim Jun (Yeongwol County Office, 18m 68).

Park Si-hoon, who later met with Yonhap News, commented, "I threw 19m10 at the Asian Games selection event (National Track and Field Championships) in May, and prepared by trying to break my personal best record in this competition, but I think the result fell far short of that, so I feel disappointed even considering it is my first (general) national sports meet."

He added, "There wasn't a lot of time between the Asian Games and the National Sports Festival, but as a player, you have to prepare for the game accordingly and produce the best results. That's not an excuse, and I think I fell short."

For him, who had never missed first place for three years in high school, it was his first time taking second place in a national sports competition. Shim Jun, a 10-year-older veteran who had been at the top of the general division for the past two years, was a formidable opponent.

Park Si-hoon said, "I prioritize breaking my record rather than seeing a medal, but that doesn't mean I didn't think about the gold medal at all. That's why I'm more disappointed. Based on this competition and this year's experience, I will prepare more thoroughly next year and get the results I want."

Park Si-hoon, who defined 2026 as "a year in which I felt a great difference between students and the unemployment department," said emphatically, "I think I have made a decision to announce a new beginning."

He said, "I think I will maintain my current physical condition or improve it little by little, and when the winter season begins, I want to make up for what I lacked this year and prepare for next year's season through the team's field training or the standing army training since I am still a member of the national reserve army."