'Smile Jumper' Woo Sang-hyeok wins a medal at his third consecutive Asian Games, takes bronze [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] South Korea's men's high jump star, the 'Smile Jumper' Woo Sang-hyeok (30, Yongin City Hall), won his third Asian Games medal but fell short in his bid for gold.
Woo Sang-hyeok cleared 2.22m to win the bronze medal in the men's high jump final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 27th at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.
With this result, Woo Sang-hyeok secured medals at three consecutive Asian Games, following silver-medal finishes at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, after placing 10th at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. South Korean men's high jump once again failed to reclaim the gold medal that has eluded the country since Lee Jin-taek won at the 1998 Bangkok and 2002 Busan Games.
Heavy rain left the track soaked, creating difficult conditions throughout the event. Woo Sang-hyeok, who had returned after a three-month absence following a left-foot abrasion injury in May, continued his attempts steadily.
After passing on 1.95m, 2.00m and 2.05m, Woo Sang-hyeok made a smooth start by clearing 2.10m on his first attempt. He stumbled at 2.14m after missing once, but cleared it cleanly on his second attempt. He then cleared both 2.18m and 2.22m on his first attempts, securing a place among the medal contenders.
The turning point came at 2.25m. Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, the defending champion and Asian record holder who had been considered a strong gold medal favorite, withdrew just before the event, raising hopes of a gold medal. However, Woo Sang-hyeok failed to clear 2.25m on both his first and second attempts.
Woo Sang-hyeok then raised the bar to 2.28m in a bid to change the color of his medal, but he failed to clear it and finished the competition in third place.
After a fierce contest behind Woo Sang-hyeok, the gold medal went to Fu Chao-hsuan of Taiwan. Fu Chao-hsuan cleared 2.25m on his first attempt, edging out India's Sarvesh Anil Kushare, who also cleared 2.25m but needed two attempts, to win gold. The victory made Fu Chao-hsuan the first Asian Games high jump gold medalist in Taiwan's history. 
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