Human Victory Brought about by Zeal and Unyielding Spirits

Could it possible to do gymnastics with only one eye? Further, is it possible at all for a player with one eye to stand on top in Asia? Most people would say no to both of the questions. But an athlete made it possible, and the athlete is Kim Dong-hwa (26, Woolsan City). It was a human victory that was born out into the world by his endless efforts, and persistent spirits and zeal.

In the Oct. 4th final for Men’s Ring of Busan Asian Games held at Busan Sajik Indoor Gym, Kim showed off various difficult maneuverings and got 9.8 average. Thus, with a Chinese athlete, he received the gold medal. Including the silver medal he won the previous day for the first time in 28 years, he recorded a total of one gold medal and a silver.

Kim has been suffering a birth defect called “amblyopia.” Thus, he barely sees through his right eye. Even wearing the contact lens, his vision remains at around 0.1. The ability to balance is the key to success as a gymnastics athlete. But, Kim cannot use one of his eyes for balancing, a fatal defect for him. It is hard for an athlete to measure the distances and the angles in a flash of a moment with only one eye.

It poses more serious problems when trying landing after a midair maneuvering. The condition of Kim leads to negative points, and even to the injuries due to the difficulty in balancing.

But Kim has overcome this handicap through endless training. He has repeatedly imagined himself landing on the floor, which has helped him a lot. National team coach Han Yoon-soo confessed, “He spent 7-8 hours a day on the landing practice. But the biggest problem he faced was to get over himself. His mind posed the biggest obstacle.”

But that is not the only one that bothered him. In the World Championship, which was held in last November in Belgium, the biceps of his right arm got ruptured during the ring, which had him undergo 6 hours of long operation. The pain on his right arm had tormented him ever since. Due to the pain, he had to take the painkillers just prior to the opening of the Asian Games. It is, however, not the end of the story. In his high school days, his right wrist got fractured. Therefore, he had to receive an operation in which a part of his pelvis bone was transplanted to his wrist.

Because of these physical hardships, he did not show good performances and was always under the shadow of star athletes like Lee Joo-hyung and Yeo Hong-chul.

The best record of him so far was the silver medal he won in ’98 Bangkok Asian Games’ floor exercises. All of these, however, did not get him down. Whenever a hardship disappointed him, he sprang back with more zeal. Finally, he won the first gold medal of him in a world competition. Kim said, choked with tears in his eyes, “My glory is not mine. My parents deserve all the glory I have now. They have filled me with strength whenever I feel down. I feel happier since my North Korean friend Kim Hyun-il could stand next to me on top of this podium.”

A gymnastics athlete of 26 years of age is a kind of an “over-the-hill.” Nonetheless, he is dreaming of challenging a gold medal at Athens Olympics which will take place in 2 years from now. A gold medal is the light at the end of a tunnel. But it means just another start for a new challenge for him.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com