Son Yeon-jae from South Korea is verifying her global competitiveness in rhythmic gymnastics, clinching five medals at an International Federation of Gymnastics World Cup in Bulgaria over the weekend.
Son took bronze in the individual all-around, a gold in clubs, two silvers in hoop and ribbon and a bronze in ball during the Sofia competition.
She is drawing close attention as to whether she will become the first Korean rhythmic gymnast to take an Olympic medal in Rio de Janeiro in August. Her popularity domestically could be likened to that of figure skating queen Kim Yu-na.
Spectators have already seen the potential of the 22-year-old Son, who won the individual all-around at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. She also took silver in the group all-around in Incheon.
Her performances have been steady. After grabbing silver in her first World Cup competition in Finland last February, Son has emerged as a strong contender at the recent World Cup competitions in Italy and Portugal, as she was included as one of the top five competitors.
Son showed confidence last year during the 2015 Gwangju Universiade. “Now I feel more pressure than I did at the London Olympics, as my goal in 2012 was only to perform at the Olympics,” she said. “I want to win a medal. I will do my best to prepare for the Rio Olympics.”
It is time for Son, who came fifth in the individual all-around at the 2012 London Olympics, to surprise the world in Rio. The “gymnastics fairy” began rhythmic gymnastics at a young age at the recommendation of her parents.
Since the late 1990s, Korea’s female sports stars have surprised the world and made local fans happy. Among them were dozens of LPGA golfers led by Pak Se-ri, figure skater Kim Yu-na and speed skater Lee Sang-hwa. As for Pak, at just 20 years of age, she became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Women’s Open, offering hope to Korean fans during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
Alongside Son, an eye-catching issue at the Rio Games is whether one of the Korean female competitors will capture gold in golf, which has been designated one of the 28 official sports of the games for the first time in 112 years, since the third modern Summer Olympics.
Some critics say that sports are merely sports, downplaying the value of international events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup.
However, star athletes’ added value is tremendous in terms of brand image for sponsor firms and their homelands. Apart from economic effects, sports stars give motivation to ordinary citizens. In this context, sports often do more good than politics.
