‘Woo Sang-hyuk’s competitor’ Bashim “Jump using experience even if the body isn’t perfect”

Mutaz Essa Basim (31, Qatar), a competitor of Woo Sang-hyeok (26, the Armed Forces Athletic Corps) and the ‘best jumper in active duty’, put forward ‘a leap through experience’ as a weapon.

At an official press conference on the 10th (Korean time), one day before the World Athletics Federation’s Monaco Diamond League, Bashim said, “(Due to the aftereffects of an ankle injury) my physical condition is worse than when I was very good. But I have accumulated a lot of experience.” “I keep gaining experience, and I’m using it to play in a better way.”

Woo Sang-hyeok and Basim will compete in the men’s high jump final of the Monaco Diamond League to be held at Fontvieille, Monaco on the 11th at 2:45 am Korean time.

This is the first rematch in 23 days since the men’s high jump final at the 2022 World Athletics Championships held at Hayward Field, Oregon, USA on the 19th of last month.

At the World Championships, Bashim surpassed 2m37 to win three consecutive championships, and Woo Sang-hyuk presented the first silver medal in Korean track and field with a 2m35.

On July 21st, Woo Sang-hyuk returned to Korea with a precious silver medal around his neck and said, “I thought, ‘Basim has sharpened his teeth.’ After ‘I’m a player who lacks more than Bashim,’ I acknowledged,” he respected Bashim.

However, he said, “Now, I am inseparable from Bashim. I said ‘Congratulations’ to him and said, ‘I’ll see you next time.’ I actually entered international competitions from last year’s Tokyo Olympics (4th in 2m35). If I steadily participate in international competitions and build up my career, I will be able to create the moves I want and compete on an equal footing with the basim.” He showed his will one day to overcome his heart.

As predicted by Woo Sang-hyuk, the two will compete again after 23 days.

Bashim is the best jumper in the field recognized by everyone.

After winning the 2017 London Games, the 2019 Doha Games, and the 2022 Eugene Games, Bashim won the World Championships three times in a row.

Bashim, who won consecutive silver medals at the 2012 Olympics in London and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, relieved her pain by sharing first place (2m37) with Jean Marco Tamberry (30, Italy) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held last year.

Basim also holds the record for second place in the history of 2m43.

The men’s high jump world record is 2m 45, set by Javier Sotomayor (Cuba) in 1993.

Woo Sang-hyuk’s personal best records are 2m36 indoors and 2m35 outdoors.

However, Woo Sang-hyuk also won a match against Bashim once.

He defeated Basim in the opening match of the Diamond League held in Doha, ‘Basim’s Home’ on May 14 this year.

At that time, Woo Sang-hyeok broke through the strong wind and climbed 2m33 to win the championship, while Basim finished second with 2m30.

In fact, Woo Sang-hyuk sees a match-to-match victory at the Olympics or world championships as a ‘real victory’.

Before leaving for Monaco, he said, “Just because I defeated Basim in the Diamond League, there is no guarantee that I will win again at the 2023 Budapest World Championships and the 2024 Paris Olympics. He said, “I will let go of the pressure and play happily in the remainder of this year’s Diamond League tournament.”

Although Bashim is still recognized as the ‘world’s best’, Woo Sang-hyuk is also a candidate for the championship recognized by everyone.

After winning the World Indoor Championships (2m34) in March this year, the Doha Diamond League Championship in May (2m33), and second place (2m35) at the July Outdoor World Championships in July, Woo Sang-hyuk is a ‘World Ranking’ that evaluates his performance over the past 12 months. ranked first with 1,388 points.

Basim was excluded from the world ranking because he had less than 5 international competitions within 12 months.

In the end, the Monaco Diamond League tournament, which will be held on the 11th, is expected to unfold as a confrontation between the ‘best currently active’ Basim and the ‘World No. 1’ Woo Sang-hyeok.

Tamberry, who spent 2021 splendidly, joint first place with Basim at the Tokyo Olympics and becoming a Diamond League winner, slumped to 3rd place (2m31) and 4th place (2m33) at the World Indoor Championships this year.

After the Eugene World Championships ended, he was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and training was suspended.

However, Tambury did not give up on their goal of being a ‘Diamond League Winner for the second year in a row’.

Tamberry said at a press conference on the 10th, “I am trying to regain my confidence. There are many good competitors, but I want to prove that I am a player who can win medals.”

Woo Sang-hyuk did not participate in the press conference.

A total of 13 tournaments will be held in the Diamond League this year. Ranking is determined by ranking points in 12 competitions, and the ‘final winner’ is determined in the 13th competition, which is a ‘championship’.

The 1st-8th place in each competition gets 8-1 points. In the men’s high jump, the top six Diamond League ranking points will participate in the ‘Final Series’ held in Zurich, Switzerland on September 8-9.

Except for the Final Series in this year’s Diamond League, there are a total of five men’s high jump competitions.

He has already held three competitions (Doha, Birmingham and Rome), and organized the men’s high jump event in Monaco and Lausanne (August 27).

The ranking points from the five competitions are combined to determine the six players who will participate in the Zurich Final Series.

Woo Sang-hyeok won the Diamond League opening match in Doha and scored 8 points. However, he did not compete in Birmingham and Roma.

Currently, Woo Sang-hyuk’s Diamond League ranking points ranking (8 points) is 6th.

Basim, who finished second in the Doha Diamond League, like Woo Sang-hyuk, was in 8th place with 7 points.

It seems that the top six players will be decided from 17 to 18 points, so Woo Sang-hyeok and Basim can safely advance to the final series if they score 10 points in the two competitions in Monaco and Lausanne.

For Woo Sang-hyuk and Bashim, ‘adding 10 points’ in the Monaco and Lausanne tournaments is not a difficult task.

Woo Sang-hyuk and Bashim, who had a heated competition in the United States in July, moved their stage to Europe in August and September to continue the competition.

[사진 출처 : EPA=연합뉴스]

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