High jump medal contender Woo Sang-hyeok cruises into final

SAINT-DENIS, France -- High jump medal contender Woo Sang-hyeok cruised into the Paris Olympic final Wednesday, moving closer to grabbing South Korea's first medal in the event.

Woo finished tied for third place with Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, the defending co-gold medalist, at 2.27 meters in the qualification at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. The top 12 among 31 jumpers booked their spots in the final, scheduled for Saturday back at the main stadium.

Woo cleared 2.15m, 2.20m and 2.24m in one attempt each. He needed two attempts to jump over 2.27m but safely qualified for the final.

Shelby McEwen of the United States topped the qualification stage after clearing 2.27m in one attempt. He was the only jumper not to have any miss Wednesday.

Hamish Kerr of New Zealand ranked second at 2.27m, and he needed the maximum three attempts to jump 2.20m earlier in the qualification.

Barshim suffered an apparent cramp in his left calf during his first attempt at 2.27m but bounced back to clear the bar to join Woo in third place.

Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, who shared the gold medal with Barshim at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, finished tied for sixth at 2.24m.

Woo owns the national record at 2.36m, and his season best is 2.33m.

This is Woo's third Olympics. He did not qualify for the final at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and finished fourth with the then national record of 2.35m in Tokyo in 2021.