13 Gold Medals, 17 Silver Medals, 26 Bronze Medals... Weightlifter Kim Che-ryang Wins Triple Crown
Sufia Girls' Middle School Basketball Achieves 2 Consecutive Championships; Kendo Under-13 Division Sets Record with 3 Consecutive Wins
At the 52nd National Youth Sports Festival, the Gwangju Metropolitan City team achieved a total of 56 medals.
According to the Gwangju Sports Council on the 30th, the Gwangju team won 13 gold medals, 17 silver medals, and 26 bronze medals at this National Youth Sports Festival.
The Gwangju selection team, which participated in the boys' kendo under-13 category, demonstrated the strength of Gwangju sports by winning three consecutive championships, following the 48th and 51st editions, excluding the event canceled due to COVID-19.
In particular, among the brothers who drew attention?Heo Gyeongdo and Heo Yundo?the elder brother Heo Gyeongdo showed outstanding performance and was selected as the Most Valuable Player, earning the honor of being the kendo MVP for two consecutive years at the Youth Sports Festival.
In modern pentathlon, after the separation of Gwangju and Jeonnam, the team won its first gold medal at the Youth Sports Festival, achieving the best-ever results (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze).
The first gold medalist, Choi Ji-woong (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 3rd year), raised expectations by sweeping two national individual competitions this year.
In the relay, along with Lee Dong-gyu (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 3rd year) and Lee Ji-hoon (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 1st year), he took first place, winning two crowns including the individual event, and was selected as the best modern pentathlon player.
Jeon Gap-su, chairman of the Sports Council, visited the modern pentathlon venue to cheer and encourage the athletes, personally awarding the winners and joining in starting a new history for Gwangju modern pentathlon.
In the girls' under-16 category, starting with Lee Ji-a (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 2nd year) winning a bronze medal in the individual event, Park Yu-min (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 3rd year), Lee Ji-a (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 2nd year), Song Hyun-seo (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 2nd year), and Yang Bo-min (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 1st year) scored 3112 points in the team event, narrowly missing gold by 5 points and taking silver.
Park Yu-min, Yang Bo-min, and Lee Ji-a also added a bronze medal in the relay, resulting in 7 out of 8 modern pentathlon participants winning medals.
In weightlifting, Kim Che-ryang (Gwangju Physical Education High School, 3rd year) swept three gold medals in the +81kg category with a 75kg snatch, 102kg clean and jerk, and a total of 177kg. Having won the 34th National Spring Women’s Weightlifting Competition last month with a 67kg snatch, 100kg clean and jerk, and a total of 167kg, Kim Che-ryang, who was expected to be a triple crown winner at the Youth Sports Festival, led the acquisition of 8 medals in weightlifting (3 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze) with top performance.
The Gwangju Supia Girls’ Middle School basketball team, competing in the girls' under-16 category, achieved back-to-back championships. In the first round, they defeated the strongest middle school team, Onyang Girls’ Middle School (Chungnam), 53-46, and then crushed the home team Yeonam Middle School (Ulsan) 86-50 to advance to the semifinals. They secured a silver medal by winning 82-65 against Masan Girls’ Middle School (Gyeongnam) in the semifinals.
In the final, relying on teamwork, they defeated Dongju Girls’ Middle School (Busan) 70-56, achieving the remarkable feat of consecutive championships following the previous tournament. Additionally, Lim Yeon-seo (Supia Girls’ Middle School, 3rd year) was selected as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The Gwangju selection team (Sangmu Elementary School, Munhwa Elementary School), competing in the girls' under-13 soft tennis category, defeated the Daegu selection team 2-0 in the semifinals. In the final, they lost 0-2 to the Chungbuk selection team, earning a silver medal.
Sangmu Elementary School team in the under-13 category and Shingwang Middle School, participating in the girls' under-16 category, added bronze medals.
Jeon Gap-su, chairman of the Sports Council, said, “We achieved our goals thanks to the balanced performance of the athletes who took pride in representing Gwangju and gave their best. This is the achievement of the sport organization officials and coaches who love the athletes, as well as the support of the citizens. We will continue to work harder for the development of school sports and youth sports.”
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