Hamyang Jeil High School's Park Yeonju Wins Thrilling Comeback Gold Medal in 400m Hurdles

49th KBS Cup National Athletics Competition Wins Gold Medal with a Time of 1:04.24 Seconds

Park Yeon-ju, Hamyang Jeil High School athlete

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Park Yeon-ju, a student at Hamyang Jeil High School in Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam, secured her position as the nation's strongest by winning the gold medal in the girls' high school 400m hurdles at the KBS Cup National Athletics Competition.

According to the Hamyang-gun Sports Council, Park Yeon-ju, a promising athlete in Korean athletics who competed in the finals of the 49th National Athletics Competition held from the 3rd to the 7th in Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk, won the gold medal with a time of 1:04.24.

In the final, Park maintained a position in the leading group until the middle of the race, then after clearing the last hurdle, sprinted full force in the final 40m straight, achieving a thrilling come-from-behind victory by a margin of 0.01 seconds over the second-place athlete.

Having also won a gold medal at the recent National Spring Athletics Competition, Park’s latest gold medal increases her chances of winning gold at the National Sports Festival scheduled for the second half of this year.

Seo Chun-soo, the mayor of Hamyang-gun, said, “I am proud that she has achieved excellent results consecutively at national competitions and that she is raising the prestige of Hamyang-gun,” adding, “I hope this award brings good news to the residents of Hamyang-gun who have been exhausted by COVID-19.”

Song Kyung-yeol, chairman of the county sports council, also said, “It seems that the athletes’ hard training despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19 has paid off,” and added, “I hope our athletes continue to achieve good results without injury in the remaining competitions.”

Park said, “Although it was a difficult environment due to COVID-19 prevention activities, I would like to thank my mother, coach, and director who always supported me,” and added, “I believe the good results came from my sincere determination that ‘if you try, you can succeed’ and my best efforts.”

Meanwhile, on the 1st, Mayor Seo Chun-soo invited the athletes participating in this competition to his office to encourage them, instilling courage and hope in the residents who are struggling due to the impact of COVID-19.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.