‘The strongest’ China sweeps gold, silver
South Korean diving sensation Woo Haram (26, Korea National Sports Promotion Organization) finished his third Olympic Games in 11th place.
Woo scored a total of 374.15 points in the men’s 3-meter springboard final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Monday (Aug. 8) at the Paris Aquatic Center in Paris, France. Uharam, who finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago – South Korea’s best-ever diving finish – was in contention for a medal, but fell short, finishing 11th out of 12 athletes.
The previous day in the semifinals, Uharam finished ninth out of 18 athletes with a total of 432.00 points for the first through sixth events, punching his ticket to the 12-man final. Uharam, who reached the Olympic final for the first time in South Korean diving history at Rio 2016 (11th in the men’s 10-meter platform), has now reached three consecutive Olympic finals after Tokyo1.
In the first period of the day, Uharam performed “5154B” to a difficulty of 3.4, “two and a half laps in a pike position with the legs extended and the arms holding the legs with both arms,” with a body-beating motion. She scored 71.40 points and placed 10th. It was a disappointing start. In the second period, she performed a 407C with a difficulty level of 3.4, scoring 68.00 points. This was good enough to keep her in 10th place with a round ranking of 9th.
In the third period, he jumped forward and attempted a difficulty 3.8 smoke (109C) with four and a half laps in a tucked knee position. She scored a disappointing 45.60 points. She dropped one spot to 11th place. In the fourth period, she performed a 3.5 difficulty 307C. He scored 73.50, his highest 안전놀이터 score to date. He placed 5th in the round and moved up one spot to 10th overall.
In the fifth period, Uharam scored 63.00 points for a 205B at difficulty 3.0 to move up one spot to ninth place. In the final period, Uharam attempted a 5156B at difficulty 3.9, which required “three laps in a beating motion and two and a half laps in a pike position.” He fell short on his entry, scoring 52.65 points. Uharam finished with a score of 374.15 points.
Woo Haram is the ‘GOAT’ of South Korean men’s diving. He has won a whopping 10 medals (4 silver, 6 bronze) at the Asian Games alone. At the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, he finished fourth in the 1-meter springboard and 3-meter springboard individual events, the highest finish ever for a South Korean male diver. He also finished fourth in the men’s 3-meter springboard at the Tokyo Olympics, his best-ever finish, and raised the “Olympic medal dream” of Korean diving to an unimaginable level.
But then came the injury. He was unable to compete at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest due to back pain. At the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, she failed to qualify for the 3-meter springboard. Desperate, Uharam finished eighth at the 2024 World Championships in Doha in February to qualify for the Paris Olympics. This was despite the after-effects of her injury.
Uharam has been working diligently since then to improve her fitness and prepare for Paris. Competing in her best shape since Tokyo, Uharam did not medal, but she did her best to put Korean diving on the map. Uharam will marry diver Cho Eun-ji (Incheon Metropolitan Government) next January.
Meanwhile, the gold and silver medals were swept by the ‘mighty’ Chinese. She Tsui won gold with 543.60 points and Wang Zhongyuan took silver with 530.20 points. Mexico’s Ibarra Olvera took bronze with 500.40 points.