Park Si-hoon sets Asian U-20 record

A 19-year-old set a new Asian under-20 record in the men’s shot put with the 6-kilogram shot. Park Si-hoon captured gold at the 22nd Asian U-20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong on May 28 with a throw of 20.65 meters. The mark eclipsed the previous Asian U-20 record of 20.63 meters set by China’s Li Meng in 2011, ending a 15-year reign.

“I thought I had only broken the championship record, so I was shocked to hear it was also an Asian record,” Park said. “I’ll continue refining the technical areas where I still need improvement and keep building on my progress in every competition.”

Earlier this month, Park also secured a place at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after recording the second-longest throw in South Korean history at the national athletics championships. Competing in the senior division with the standard 7.26-kilogram shot, he posted a distance of 19.10 meters.

“I’ll do my best to deliver even stronger performances while representing South Korea,” Park said.


이소연 always99@donga.com