Park Hye-jeong wins a silver medal with Korea... listened together with my mother in heaven

I saw the boss's ears come out of a donkey's ears and talk about my mother..

I started to cry..

Your mother must have really liked it too.

Even though she's young, Park Hye-jung is truly diligent, bright, and adorable. She's amazing!

Congratulations on the silver medal~

 

 

 

Park Hye-jeong won a silver medal in the women's over 87kg weight class at the 2024 Paris Olympics on the 11th at South Paris Arena 6. She lifted 131kg in snatch, 168kg in clean and jerk, with a total of 299kg. This is Korea's first weightlifting medal in 8 years since Yoon Jin-hee's bronze in the women's 53kg category at the 2016 Rio Games. Additionally, she is the first female super heavyweight Olympic medalist in 12 years since Miran Jang, who won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, a gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, a former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The impressive 131kg lifted by Park Hye-jung on this day is also a Korean record. Besides this record, all the Korean records in the women's super heavyweight category (snatch 170kg, total 296kg) are also held by Park Hye-jung.

Park Hye-jeong was introduced to weightlifting after watching a YouTube video of Rim Mi-ran (currently the Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when she was in sixth grade of elementary school. She quickly grew as she inherited the talent from her mother, Nam Hyun-hee, a shot put athlete. In the third grade of Shonbu Middle School in Ansan, she lifted a total of 255 kg, surpassing the record of 235 kg set by Rim Mi-ran when she was a second-year high school student. Unlike Vice Minister Rim, who lifted a total of 260 kg in her third year of high school, Park Hye-jeong recorded 267 kg in her first competition after entering high school. Her momentum in the adult stage is also good. Last September, she won gold medals at both the World Championships and the Hangzhou Asian Games in October. It was her first time on top since Rim Mi-ran's victory at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, 13 years earlier. She has established herself as a pillar in the super heavyweight category, following Rim Mi-ran.

 

 

Park Hye-jeong had a strong reason to win a medal at this competition. Park Hye-jeong's mother, Ms. Nam, passed away on April 8 after battling cancer for eight years. Even during her illness, Ms. Nam drove herself to support Park Hye-jeong on competition days across the country. A weightlifting official said, "I met her about a week before she passed away, and she said, 'I have to overcome cancer. I want to see more of Hye-jeong growing up.' But suddenly, her condition worsened within a day or two, and she passed away."

My mother passed away one week before the IWF Thailand World Cup. It was a competition that determined the Olympic qualification. After winning the award, Park Hye-jung said, "I want to show my mother that I am going to the Olympics," and left Korea. She then finished second in the competition, behind Li Wenyuan, earning a ticket to Paris. After the event, Park Hye-jung said, "I knew very well that my mother wanted me to participate in the Olympics. So I went to the World Cup, clenched my teeth, and showed my best. I heard that my mother appeared in my father’s and sister’s dreams, but she hasn't appeared in mine yet," she laughed.

Coach Jang Seong-hyun from Ansan Technical High School has been with Park Hye-jeong for seven years since she was at Seonbu Middle School. It was countless times that he let Park Hye-jeong, who lives far from home and high school, stay at his house where his wife and son live. Coach Jang said, "Hye-jeong is just like our family. She has such a good personality that she gets along well with our family." He continued, "Even in bright moments, she is deep inside, so even when she's struggling, she doesn't show it easily. There was a time she caught a stomach bug during an international competition abroad, and I didn't know until she told me. She's a painful finger that worries my heart."

Coach Jo also frequently met with Park Hye-jeong's mother. Coach Jo said, "One day, I met Hye-jeong's mother, and she told me that she always says to her daughter, 'Proud daughter, be confident in everything you do. Don't worry about what others say. As long as you're proud of yourself, that's enough. It's okay if you don't win an Olympic medal. You can't turn back time. Just keep looking forward and run.'"

<Source: Chosun Ilbo>