'Shoulder Injury Fighting Spirit' Yeo Seo-jeong, Regrettable Landing... 7th Place in Gymnastics Vault Final [Paris Olympics]

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Ye Seo-jeong (22, Jecheon City Hall), South Korea's top gymnast, did not make it to the podium at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

On the 3rd (local time), at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France, during the women's vault final in artistic gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Korean athlete Yeo Seo-jeong showed a disappointed expression after completing her routine. Yeo Seo-jeong finished in 7th place. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 3rd (Korean time), Ye Seo-jeong competed in the women's vault final at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics held at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France, and scored a total of 13.416 points from two attempts, finishing 7th out of 8 participants.

Ye Seo-jeong became the first South Korean female gymnast to win an Olympic medal by earning a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She aimed to become the first South Korean gymnast to win Olympic medals in two consecutive Games at the 2024 Paris Olympics but unfortunately fell short of her goal.

In the vault event, each gymnast performs twice, and rankings are determined by the average score. Ye Seo-jeong struggled with her landings in both attempts, making her medal challenge difficult.

In her first attempt, Ye performed a skill with a difficulty of 5.4. While the aerial movements were executed smoothly, her body’s center of gravity shifted forward during the landing facing the vault, nearly causing her to kneel. She scored 14.166 points in the first attempt.

Despite concerns, she received a higher score than expected, and if she had scored in the mid-14s in the second attempt, she could have entered medal contention. In the second attempt, Ye performed a slightly easier skill with a difficulty of 5.0, but her landing was unstable enough that she had to place both hands on the mat.

Ye Seo-jeong scored 12.666 points in the second attempt, with an average of 13.366 points, finishing in 7th place. Ye Hong-cheol, a professor at Kyung Hee University and Ye Seo-jeong’s father who provided commentary for the event, revealed that she had been unable to train properly due to a dislocated arm, indicating she performed while injured.

Ye Seo-jeong emerged as a star in South Korean women's gymnastics after winning the gold medal in the vault event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.

Building on her momentum, she achieved a historic feat by winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first South Korean female gymnast to earn an Olympic medal. Last fall, she also made history by winning bronze in the vault at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Antwerp, Belgium, marking the first-ever world championship medal for South Korean women's gymnastics.

The gold medal at this competition went to the returning "Gymnastics Queen," Simone Biles (USA). Biles scored an average of 15.300 from two attempts, securing the gold and completing a triple crown at the event. Defending champion Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) earned silver with 14.966 points, and Jade Carey (USA) took bronze with 14.466 points.

North Korea’s An Chang-ok, the reigning champion from last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, finished 4th with 14.216 points.