South Korean diving star Woo Ha-ram 우하람 (25, Korea National Sport University) has advanced to the final stage of the men’s 1m springboard at the 2023 FINA World Championships.

On the 14th, Woo Ha-ram secured the 9th place out of 63 competitors in the preliminary round of the men’s 1m springboard diving event, held at a swimming pool in Fukuoka, Japan, with a total score of 362.65.

With this result, Woo Ha-ram has secured a spot in the final round, which is granted to the top 12 competitors in the preliminary round.

In the first round, Woo Ha-ram performed a 405B dive, a forward takeoff from a standing position at the edge of the pool, followed by a pike position and two and a half rotations. He scored 71.40 points, placing him in 2nd position.

Although Woo Ha-ram’s ranking gradually dropped from the second round onwards, he managed to secure a place within the top 12, guaranteeing his spot in the final.

The men’s 1m springboard diving final will take place on the 16th at 2:30 PM.

Peng Jianfeng from China, who won the gold medal in this event at the 2017 Budapest World Championships, advanced to the preliminary round’s top spot with a score of 403.75.

In the 2019 Gwangju World Championships, Woo Ha-ram narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing 4th in the men’s 1m springboard event.

Woo Ha-ram is a prominent figure in Korean diving. He has competed in the World Championships four times since his debut in the 2013 Barcelona event. In the 2019 Gwangju Championships, he also placed 4th in the men’s 3m springboard, raising expectations for a podium finish.

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Woo Ha-ram achieved his best Olympic result, finishing 4th in the men’s 3m springboard event. It is the highest-ever performance by a Korean diver in the Olympics.

Due to a back injury, Woo Ha-ram was unable to participate in the Budapest World Championships last year.

After focusing on rehabilitation, Woo Ha-ram started intensive technical training in March this year. He didn’t express a strong desire for medals ahead of this competition. His primary goal was to secure a spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics, as the top 12 finalists in each official Olympic event would earn Olympic qualification.

By successfully reaching the final in the non-Olympic 1m springboard event, Woo Ha-ram made a solid start to his campaign.

On the 15th, Woo Ha-ram will compete in the men’s synchronized 3m springboard preliminary, and on the 19th, he will participate in the 3m springboard preliminary, aiming to secure a spot for the Paris Olympics.

Kim Young-taek (Jeju Provincial Office), who also competed in the 1m springboard, fell short of reaching the final, finishing 50th with a score of 256.00.

Kim Young-taek, whose main event is the platform, will be preparing for the mixed synchronized 10m platform, men’s synchronized 10m platform, mixed team event, and men’s 10m platform.

In the women’s 1m springboard preliminary, both Kim Na-hyun (Gangwon Provincial Office) and Kim Soo-ji (Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall) failed to advance to the final.

Kim Na-hyun finished 14th among 44 participants with a total score of 229.40 in the 1-5 round. The score difference between Kim Na-hyun and Pamela Ware (Canada), who secured the last spot for the final with a score of 237.35, was only 2.95 points.

Starting from a joint 29th place in the first round, Kim Na-hyun gradually climbed up the rankings as the rounds progressed.

In the final round, Kim Na-hyun attempted a 105B dive, which involved “standing forward with legs extended, bending the upper body, and gripping the legs in a pike position to complete 2.5 rotations.” She scored 50.70 points for this dive and ranked 7th in the fifth round.

However, she failed to make up for her underperformance in the first and second rounds and did not qualify for the next stage.

Making her debut on the world stage, Kim Na-hyun only competed in the women’s 1m springboard event at this competition. Unfortunately, she was eliminated in the preliminary round, completing all her events on the first day.

Kim Soo-ji, who became the only Korean female swimmer to win a medal at the World Championships by securing a bronze in the women’s 1m springboard event at the 2019 Gwangju Championships, finished 19th with a total score of 229.40 in the 1-5 round, struggling with back pain.

Kim Soo-ji will participate in the women’s 3m springboard, women’s synchronized 3m springboard, mixed synchronized 3m springboard, and mixed team event in hopes of achieving better results.

In particular, she will challenge for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics in the official event, the 3m springboard.

In the women’s 1m springboard preliminary, Lin Shan (China) secured the top spot with a score of 291.25, followed by Li Yajie (China) in second place with a score of 283.35. 먹튀검증