Athens Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist Jeong Ji-hyeon
Background of Quitting National Team Coach Role in 2022
Includes Cryptocurrency Investment Failure... "Lost Almost Entire Fortune"
Jung Ji-hyun, the gold medalist in wrestling at the 2004 Athens Olympics, revealed that he lost almost all of his assets after investing in cryptocurrency. Currently, Jung Ji-hyun has quit his position as a national team coach and is running a wrestling specialty gym while actively working as a sports YouTuber.
Jeong Ji-hyun, a former national team player who served as a commentator during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Instagram
On the 9th, the TV Chosun variety show 'Survival King' featured a scene where broadcaster Kim Byung-man, Jung Ji-hyun, and Kim Dong-jun warmed up before the finals. On that day, Jung Ji-hyun demonstrated squats as a warm-up exercise while carrying Kim Dong-jun on his back. Kim Dong-jun admired, "No wonder Ji-hyun hyung was the world number one." When Kim Dong-jun asked, "Until when did you play for the national team?" Jung Ji-hyun replied, "Until I was 32," adding, "I competed as a national representative until the 2014 Incheon Asian Games." Jung Ji-hyun also won a gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.
Kim Byung-man asked, "When did you coach the national team?" and Jung Ji-hyun answered, "From 2017." Then Kim Byung-man said, "Usually coaches stay for a long time, but when you said you left Taereung (Athlete Village), I thought you left earlier than expected. Is there a story behind that?" Jung Ji-hyun is known to have served as a national team coach until 2022.
Jung Ji-hyun hesitated, saying, "There is a story," and asked, "Should I talk about it?" Then he said, "Cryptocurrency (coin)," and trailed off, "I got involved in coins the wrong way and lost almost all my assets..." Kim Byung-man comforted him, saying, "Everyone has a glorious time when the petals bloom, and then a time when only the bare branches remain without petals. This is the loneliest time."
Previously, Jung Ji-hyun appeared on SBS’s ‘Same Bed, Different Dreams Season 2 - You Are My Destiny’ with his wife and shared the reason for opening the gym: “I made a bad investment. So the pillar of the household was shaking. I thought, ‘This can’t go on. The salary as a coach at the Athlete Village won’t be enough. It won’t be easy to educate the kids and buy a house,’” revealing his financial crisis.
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