유지호
| 2021-07-09 10:26:07
weightlifter-Olympics
Ever the optimist, weightlifter pursues Olympic medal in new weight class
SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- Even as rule changes threatened to derail her Olympic dreams, South Korean weightlifter Kim Su-hyeon never lost her love of the sport, with her childlike enthusiasm for competition still intact.
Thanks to a stroke of luck that followed, Kim, 26, now finds herself as a potential medal contender in Tokyo.
Kim will be competing in the women's 76kg class at the Tokyo Olympics starting later this month. The division didn't previously exist at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where the over-75kg was the highest class for females.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) reorganized weight categories in 2018, removing Kim's previous class, 69kg, and adding 71kg as part of the new 10 weight classes in total.
Kim decided to move up to the 71kg but then for the Olympics, only seven categories were selected. The closest class for Kim would by 76kg.
Kim had competed in the 69kg division at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games. She now had to jump two classes to get into the Olympics against many others who had already been in the 70kg range for a few years.
Kim did the only thing she knows how: keep a smile on her face and work hard.
"I knew feeling sorry for myself wouldn't change anything," Kim said in a recent phone interview with Yonhap News Agency. "I had nothing to lose. And now I am going to the Olympics. I felt I got the short end of the stick when the weight classes changed, but in hindsight, it wasn't so bad after all."
Kim qualified for Tokyo as world No. 5 in her new division, earning one of eight priority spots up for grabs. Though Kim said she still has a ways to go in the 76kg, the competition will be so wide open that she just may have a shot at the podium.
North Korean weight lifter Rim Jong-sim, the 2016 Olympic champion in the old 75kg class and world No. 1 as recently as 2019, will not participate, as her country has decided not to send its delegation due to COVID-19 concerns.
And Zhang Wangli of China, the 2019 world bronze medalist in the 76kg class and world No. 1 this year, will also be missing in Tokyo. Countries can each send four female and four male lifters to Tokyo, and China chose to participate in 49kg, 55kg, 87kg and over-87kg.
"Rim and Zhang have been dominant in the 76kg, and to be honest, I am lucky that they're not going to be in Tokyo," Kim said. "It's an honor to be considered a medal contender. I won't let the pressure get to me."
South Korean officials said Kim will have a chance if she can lift 255kg in total -- 112kg in snatch and 143kg in clean and jerk.
Kim has set higher targets for herself, with 115kg in snatch and 145kg in clean and jerk.
Kim took up weightlifting after watching South Korean legend Jang Mi-ran win the 2008 Olympic gold in the over-75kg, setting world records with 140kg in snatch, 186kg in clean and jerk, and 326kg in total.
Kim was 13 at the time and was a couple of years behind other weightlifting prospects. But with the help of coach Chun Sang-suk, who is now the national team head coach for this year's Olympics, Kim progressed at an impressive rate.
Kim made her first national team while still in high school and got to meet Jang in person for the first time. Jang has kept in touch with Kim even after her retirement, and Kim said she pinches herself to this day that she's going to the Olympics, just like Jang did.
"I started weightlifting because I fell in love with it, and now I'll be on the Olympic stage, something that every athlete wants to do," Kim said. "I feel like I am in a dream every day. I am just happy to be training. I can't imagine how much happier I am going to be if I can somehow win a medal."
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