AG medal after two years in the hammer…dreams of a glorious thirties after growing pains
AG medal after two years in the hammer…dreams of a glorious thirties after growing pains
What kind of bright future awaits after the growing pains?
Kim Tae-hee (18, Iri Public High School) is still growing, having broken several domestic records and won Korea’s first women’s hammer throw bronze medal at the Asian Games more than two years after she first picked up the hammer.
Kim threw 64m14 to reach the podium in the women’s hammer throw final at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Sept. 29 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Main Stadium in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.
She was third behind Wang Zheng (71m53) and Zhao Jie (68m44-over China).
“Because of the back pain (thought to be growing pains), I couldn’t sleep well all summer and was anxious because I was only doing reinforcement training instead of proper training, but I was surprised to see a much better performance than I had in practice,” 먹튀검증
Kim recalled when she spoke to Hankyoreh at Iri Industrial High School in Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, on March 19.
Kim didn’t even know what a hammer was until she entered high school two years ago.
She followed her older brother, who was a shot putter in elementary school, and entered Jeonnam Cheongdo in 2021 as a discus thrower.
However, in the competitions she participated in, she did not perform much better than in middle school.
At the urging of her friends, she transferred to Iri Industrial High School, where she was a strong thrower, and switched to hammer throw.
“I was scared to try something new, but I wasn’t a good student and this was the only way I could do it, so I thought, ‘I’ll see it through,'” Kim said.
Two months later, he was up to 45 meters, and later that year, with a full winter training regimen, he started going over 50 meters.
This year, she made a name for herself at national competitions, performing remarkably well.
In May, she threw 58 meters (84 feet) at the KBS Bae National Track and Field Championships, breaking the Korean high school girls’ record of 57 meters (74 feet) set by Park Hee-sun in 2010 after a 13-year hiatus, and continued to improve her marks in June (59 meters, 97 feet) and July (61 meters, 24 feet).
At the Asian Games just two months later, she improved her mark by nearly three meters, surpassing the South Korean record (63m80) set by Kang Na-ru in 2012.
“I think the reinforcement exercises that I did with the idea that I should recover quickly so that I could come back quickly helped me to achieve unexpected results,” said Kim Tae-hee.
“She already had basic physical strength from other sports, and her height (180 centimeters) and relatively long limbs gave her a strong centrifugal force and a stronger pulling power than other athletes, so her performance improved quickly,” said Choi Jin-yeop, coach of Iri Gongo High School.
“Once his growth plates close and he is able to begin full-scale strength training, his progress will be even more dramatic.”
The experience of competing against world-class adult athletes for the first time at the Asian Games was a great motivation for Kim.
“After beating the Chinese athlete who finished first this time, I want to be in that position next time.
I want to clear 68 meters, which is the standard for Olympic qualification, and challenge the world record (82.98 meters),” she said confidently.
When asked, “When do you think you’ll be able to reach your goal,” Kim replied, “Around the age of 30.
“Throwing has a longer lifespan than other sports.
Men’s hammer thrower Lee Yoon-cheol is over 40, and he hasn’t lost a gold medal at the national championships in 20 years, from 2002 to this year.”
For Kim, mental strength and mindset are two things she needs to work on to become a better athlete.
“On days when practice doesn’t go my way, I get angry and don’t respond to my coach and throw tantrums all day long, but when I look back, I regret it.
I want to emulate Kim Yeon-ah’s strong mental strength and Woo Sang-hyuk’s (high jump) mindset of always smiling even when he fails.”