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Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae leaves to train in Russia

Posted December. 06, 2014 08:17,   

한국어

Now for an Olympic medal.

Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae has set off to train in Russia on Friday. Her target is an Olympic medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. This year was the best year for Son. She won the first Korean gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics at the Incheon Asian Games. After taking two months off, she will resume training, saying, “I want to start over.”

Since the 2012 London Olympics, she has endured severe pressure from the high expectations and interest. The Asiad was more of a burden as it was held on home ground. Son said, “The Asiad is an important competition so I felt very nervous but the results were good, so I’m pleased. I feel I can have more fun while training going forward.”

The gymnast plans to train in Novogorsk in Russia under her coach Elena Nefedova to fix her new routines for the next season. On the routines, she said “The music is not all fixed, but we have a framework to a degree and we plan to complete the choreography to the music in Russia. I think we will have one routine to ballet music.”

Son’s sights are now set on the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. She also needs to win a berth to the Olympics at the World Championships next year. She said: “If I get another opportunity to compete in the Olympics, I will work hard and secure that berth. It is not an easy ticket to win. I am honored and will do my best to leave no regrets.”

For that competition of her life, the Olympics, Son says that she will enjoy the training and expectations rather than be saddled by it. She said, “Two years later, the Olympics could be the last competition for me. I will regret it if I don’t have fun due to the pressure. If I prepare hard, I think I will enjoy it a little more.”