Park Tae-kyung, in the 110m Hurdle, Goes to Athens

Park Tae-kyung (23, Gwangju City), the “record maker” in the 110m hurdle race, will appear at the Olympic stage as the first ever Korean sprinter.

Park Tae-kyung, setting a new Korean record of 13.71 seconds for the men’s 110 m hurdle at the Asia Championship this October, beat the new B standard record of 13.72 seconds, which was decided by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) on November 25, and as a result, he will be able to participate in the Athens Olympic Games.

The previous standard record was 13.62 seconds. IAAF lowered this barrier in order to increase the number of sprinters for the Olympics. Only one player from each country who beats the B standard record can take part in the Olympics.

Jang Jae-gun participated in the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988 in a short-distance race, but it was not because he beat the standard record but because he had the premium of participating for the host country. Consequently, Park Tae-kyung’s advancement to the Olympics is a monumental achievement.

Park Tae-kyung showed his superior ability by breaking Korean records consecutively in the Busan Asian Games last year (13.89 seconds, third place), Daegu Universiad this August (13.76 seconds, third place), and the 15th Asia Athletic Championship held in the Philippines (13.71 seconds, second place). He was awarded the “the most valuable record award,” given by the Korea Sports Journalists Federation on November 17 thanks to his march on new records.

Park Tae-kyung, selected as a reserve sprinter for Korea in 1998, is an awesome exercise machine. The coach of Kwangju City, Shin Jae-yong who has taught Park Tae-kyung for three years, confirmed, “He has excellent speed but is still a little weak at hurdling. He will have satisfying results at the Athens Olympics because he has dedicated himself only to hurdling.”

Park Tae-kyung promised by saying, “I would like to go to the U.S. for training this winter and receive the highest level of instruction. I will make my dream of reaching the Olympics final eight come true with my dedicated effort.”

Park Tae-kyung, who had to withdraw from Sung Kyun Kwan University due to his family’s poor financial situation during the 1998 IMF crisis, now attends Chosun University as a senior majoring in social sports. He has plans to continue his studies at a graduate school. Meanwhile, 14 Korean athletic players from nine sports received bids for the Athens Olympics, according to new standard records of IAAF.

jaeyuna@donga.com