"Precious Mistake" Heo Ung, 7th in Massage Finals... South Korea Gymnastics No Medal for First Time in 8 Years [Paris Olympics]

Early Spindle Technical Document Mistake... Finishes in 7th Place

Men's gymnastics ace Heo Woong (Jecheon City Hall) finished 7th in the pommel horse final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"Precious Mistake" Heo Ung, 7th in Massage Finals... South Korea Gymnastics No Medal for First Time in 8 Years [Paris Olympics]

Heo Woong competing in the men's pommel horse final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Heo Woong scored 14.300 points in the men's gymnastics pommel horse final held on the 4th (Korean time) at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France, finishing 7th among the eight finalists.

Heo Woong attempted a routine with a difficulty score of 6.7 in his first attempt. Having ambitiously prepared a high-difficulty routine that could compete with the medal contenders, he was fully capable of challenging for a medal if he had performed his routine perfectly as planned.

However, perhaps due to the tension and pressure of his first Olympic stage, he made a mistake early on during the spindle skill. His leg caught on the apparatus, causing him to fall. Although he immediately resumed his routine, it was not enough to recover from the critical error. He received an execution score of 7.600, finishing with a total of 14.300 points and placing 7th.

Previously, Heo Woong had not secured a ticket to Paris. Team member Kim Hansol (Seoul City Hall) suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture injury two days before departing for the Olympics at the Jincheon National Training Center, so Heo Woong, who had been preparing as a possible substitute, boarded the flight to Paris as a replacement athlete.

Heo Woong had been building his competitiveness on the international stage, placing 2nd in pommel horse with 14.933 points at the Cairo World Cup in Egypt and 3rd with 15.300 points at the Cottbus World Cup in Germany.