S. Korean climbing star training for Tokyo Olympics after two gold medals at Sport Climbing World Cup
- 5 years ago
Despite her small height of just 153 centimeters, South Korean sport climber Kim Ja-in's technique and agility has kept her in the top 3 in the world since 2009.
She bagged 2 more gold medals at this year's Sport Climbing World Cup,… to give her the most golds in the event's history with a total of 28.
Won Jung-hwan looks at what the world-class climber expects in the coming years.
Despite returning from international competitions last week,… South Korean climber Kim Ja-in, is already busy training with a new goal in mind as sport climbing will make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
In fact, the sport has already made its debut at the Asian stage.
She has picked up a bronze medal in the Women's Sport Climbing Combined event at the 2018 Asian Games, which took place in Indonesia back in August.
And reminiscing about that win,… she speaks frankly about the burden of increased public interest in her sport.
"The interest that I received from the public was different from the past as the sport was debuting at a major sporting event. And adding to that, the disciplines at the Asian Games were different from what I have been doing for so long."
Kim is the world number three at lead climbing, but for the combined event at the Asian Games she had to also compete in bouldering and speed climbing as well as lead climbing. And she doesn't have time to take a break from training as the Olympic event will also combine the three sport climbing disciplines.
Practicing for more than 4 hours every day in the gym,… she tries to perfect her skills in all three climbing disciplines. Her goal for now is to win a place at the Olympics.
"The Tokyo Olympics seemed so far away, but actually it is now just around the corner. As it is getting closer, my first goal is to be on the 20 member roster."
With the spotlight continuing to shine on her career in the sport, Kim heads to Guangzhou for the China Open next week to pump up her confidence ahead of her push to reach her ultimate goal of winning an Olympic medal.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
She bagged 2 more gold medals at this year's Sport Climbing World Cup,… to give her the most golds in the event's history with a total of 28.
Won Jung-hwan looks at what the world-class climber expects in the coming years.
Despite returning from international competitions last week,… South Korean climber Kim Ja-in, is already busy training with a new goal in mind as sport climbing will make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
In fact, the sport has already made its debut at the Asian stage.
She has picked up a bronze medal in the Women's Sport Climbing Combined event at the 2018 Asian Games, which took place in Indonesia back in August.
And reminiscing about that win,… she speaks frankly about the burden of increased public interest in her sport.
"The interest that I received from the public was different from the past as the sport was debuting at a major sporting event. And adding to that, the disciplines at the Asian Games were different from what I have been doing for so long."
Kim is the world number three at lead climbing, but for the combined event at the Asian Games she had to also compete in bouldering and speed climbing as well as lead climbing. And she doesn't have time to take a break from training as the Olympic event will also combine the three sport climbing disciplines.
Practicing for more than 4 hours every day in the gym,… she tries to perfect her skills in all three climbing disciplines. Her goal for now is to win a place at the Olympics.
"The Tokyo Olympics seemed so far away, but actually it is now just around the corner. As it is getting closer, my first goal is to be on the 20 member roster."
With the spotlight continuing to shine on her career in the sport, Kim heads to Guangzhou for the China Open next week to pump up her confidence ahead of her push to reach her ultimate goal of winning an Olympic medal.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.