[AG/english]Go to the Gold Sea over 16 Years

A boy who climbed up to the top in the Asian Games Yacht with a pimpled face 16 years ago. He became a father and conquered Asia again.

Park, Jong-Woo, who won the Yacht 420 class on the 9th. He was the hero who was the youngest gold medallist in the Team Korea participating the Seoul Asian Games in 1986 when he was 13 years old. The boyish face at that time was changed to a tanned healthy face, and his height, which was only 1m60, was grown to 1m71. The mischievous boy at that time is now a father with a two-year-old daughter.

As a man who had entered the one-man Optimist Class under 15 year-old in the Seoul Games, he entered the 2-men 420 Class with Lee, Dong-Woo (29. Haewoondae-Gu Office).

For him, the gold medal in this Game has special meaning. He, who has a habitual miss boning symptoms, had his arm to be taken out during the race, so he almost gave up the game. During the 2nd race, his left arm was taken out, so he finished third while leading the lace until middle of the race.

“I have to control the sail only with arm strength in Yacht, so it is difficult to sail with one arm. I had a hard time to put the arms back in.” He participated on the game with shots in his shoulders to reduce the pain from the next day; his shoulder was misplaced again during the 4th race.

“I wanted to rather give up the race, but I won the 4th race in pain. I’d like to thank my partner Dong-Woo who encouraged me when I was in pain.” Actually, this race for him was a fight against himself, not other players.

Although he continued sailing after the Seoul Asian Games, he was far from winning. He had left Yacht for a year when he was a senior at the Daechon Marine High School because he hated the simple and hard practice. It is a crop over the sorrow of an unpopular sport, so it is even more valuable to him.

“I can’t say how I feel…. I am twice or three times as much pleased than the other players.” He sweared that he would put the gold medal to his wife and daughter first.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com