Woo Haram (25, Korea National Sports Promotion Agency) and Lee Jae-kyung (24, Gwangju Metropolitan Sports Association), who went silver in the men’s synchro spring 3m diving event at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, are close friends who treat each other like family.
They also have something in common that makes them ‘good to talk to’.
Lee Jae-kyung is a ‘diving couple’. She is married to Kim Yuna, a former diver, and they have a precious daughter.
Woo Haram is a ‘diving couple’ that everyone knows in the ‘swimming world’. He has been dating Cho Eun-ji (Incheon Metropolitan Government) for a long time.
Jo Eun-ji is the younger sister of Jo Eun-bi (Incheon Metropolitan Government), who competed in the women’s diving event at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Woo Haram and Lee Jae-kyung finished second in the men’s synchro 3m springboard final at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Tuesday with a combined score of 393.00 points from the first to sixth dives at the Hangzhou Olympic and Sports Centre in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Uharam, the most decorated Korean athlete at the Games, increased his medal tally to nine (four silver and five bronze).
Lee Jae-kyung won a valuable silver medal in her first ever Asian Games.
The pair thanked their families for their support over the Chuseok holiday.
Lee said, “I’m really sorry that I was away from my wife and daughter during the festive season. “Thanks to many people, I became a national athlete and won a medal at the Asian Games, but my wife is the one who gave me the most strength. She has dedicated so much to help me focus on my training. With this medal, I want to show my gratitude to her in a small way.”
“I hope this silver medal can be a Chuseok gift to my family, girlfriend, teammates and everyone else,” said Uharam. “I hope to win medals in the remaining individual events (1-metre springboard and 3-metre springboard), improve my performance and repay them with a medal at the Paris Olympics.”
“When asked if he was going to reveal his girlfriend, Uharam said, “You all know. I want to publicly express my gratitude.”
Uharam is the “greatest athlete” Korean diving has ever produced.
At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, he finished fourth in the 1-metre springboard and third in the 3-metre springboard individual events, the highest finish ever for a South Korean male diving athlete.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he finished fourth in the men’s 3-metre springboard, his best result ever, raising the dream of an Olympic medal for Korean diving.
However, Uharam did not compete at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest due to back pain.
At the World Championships in Fukuoka in July, she received an uncharacteristic report card: a ‘no qualification’ on the 3m springboard.
Uharam said: “I’m working my way up from the bottom. I’ve been doing synchronised training with Lee Jae-kyung and individual training on my own, and I feel my performance is improving,” she said. “With the silver medal at this event, I will be able to increase my speed, and I will definitely do well at the World Championships in Doha next February (for a place in the Paris Olympics).”
“When Haram trained in synchro with his brother, it made me think, ‘I can’t be left behind,’” Lee said. I trained harder than ever,” she said, adding, “I won’t forget what’s on my mind now, and I’ll do well in the remaining competitions.” 파워볼게임