160 Medals Last Year... Yongin City Becomes a Strong Supporter of Amateur Sports

Outstanding Results by Workplace Sports Teams in Domestic and International Competitions
Operating Eight Teams with 72 Athletes, Including the Newly Established Para-Swimming Team

Amid the economic downturn causing a decline in support for amateur sports by companies and organizations, the workplace sports teams in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, are emerging as strong sponsors, drawing attention.

According to Yongin City on the 13th, the city currently operates workplace sports teams consisting of 72 coaches and athletes across eight disciplines: athletics, Ssireum, Taekwondo, bowling, Kendo, rowing, judo, and swimming. This includes a para-swimming team established earlier this year. Most of these are so-called non-mainstream sports.

Under city support, the workplace sports teams have achieved excellent results in various domestic and international competitions. Last year, the affiliated athletes won a total of 160 medals?69 gold, 49 silver, and 42 bronze?at domestic and international events.

Yoo Sang-hyeok, a national representative in high jump belonging to the Yongin City Workplace Sports Team, is training. Provided by Yongin City

The representative athlete of the workplace sports teams is Woo Sang-hyeok, the leading male high jumper. Overcoming the disappointment of not winning a medal at the Paris Olympics last year, Woo claimed the gold medal at the 2024 World Athletics Diamond League Rome meet. This year, he continued his streak by winning the season's first competition on the 9th at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver Hustopece high jump event in the Czech Republic, clearing 2.31 meters.

The Ssireum team, which transferred its affiliation from the Yongin City Sports Council to the workplace sports teams last year, also achieved its best-ever results. In October last year, at the Ansan Kim Hong-do Jangsa Ssireum Tournament, Kim Yoon-soo won the Taebaek Jangsa title, Park Min-gyo the Hallasan Jangsa, and Kim Dong-hyun the Baekdu Jangsa, marking the first time since the team's founding that they swept three individual weight classes.

Taekwondo national team member Cha Ye-eun has established herself as the strongest in free poomsae. She won consecutive championships at various international competitions, including the Hong Kong World Poomsae Championships and the 8th Asian Poomsae Championships last year. This year, the city also recruited male -58kg sparring athletes Lee Sang-ryeol and Kim Si-yoon, as well as certified poomsae athletes Jeong Ha-eun and Kim Areum.

Other athletes in bowling, rowing, and judo have steadily collected medals and improved their performance. Bowling national team member Ga Yoon-mi ranked first in the five-person event and third in the three-person event at the Asian Bowling Championships. Kendo national team members Jang Ye-chan and Kim Kwan-soo secured second place in the team event at the World Kendo Championships.

The rowing team achieved first place consecutively in domestic and international competitions, including the national indoor rowing championships double sculls, the Chungju Tangeumho Cup national rowing regatta eights, the Hwacheon Peace Cup national rowing regatta quadruple sculls, the Asian Indoor Rowing Championships single sculls, and the National Sports Festival quadruple sculls. The judo team also won at the Taipei Asian Judo Open with Hong Moon-ho and Park Hee-won, and secured the championship in the team event at the KH Group National Corporate Judo Championships.

O Seok-jun, a swimmer with disabilities from the Yongin City Workplace Sports Team established this year. Provided by Yongin City

The city has also expanded its athlete management. Notably, it established a para-swimming team this year. Led by Coach Joo Gil-ho, who served as the para-swimming coach at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, the para-swimming team recruited four athletes?Jo Gi-seong, Chae Ye-ji, Kwon Yong-hwa, and Oh Seok-jun?who have achieved strong results in domestic and international competitions. The para-swimming team plans to participate in the World Swimming Championships in Singapore and the Tokyo Summer Deaflympics this year.

The city is strengthening support for the athletics team by renewing contracts with Coach Kim Do-gyun and athlete Woo, as well as newly recruiting triple jump national team member Yoo Kyu-min. The rowing team recruited national representatives Kang Woo-gyu and Lee Jong-hee, and the judo team increased its roster from eight to nine members.

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, said, "Sports enrich people's lives and provide hope and inspiration to citizens. We will continue to provide unwavering support and encouragement this year to the athletes who elevated the city's status with their excellent performances last year and brought hope and inspiration to our citizens."