(Olympics) Friends chasing historic medals in high jump, modern pentathlon

High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok and modern pentathlete Jun Woong-tae have been friends since both represented South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. They have kept busy making history in their respective sports, with Woo winning titles that no South Korean high jumper had dared dreamed of winning and Jun becoming the country's very first Olympic pentathlon medalist with the bronze in Tokyo. On the final Saturday of the Paris Olympics, both will try to reach the podium. Woo will compete in the men's high jump final at Stade de France, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday in France, or 2 a.m. Sunday in South Korea. The final portion of the men's modern pentathlon will start earlier in the evening, and the medals will be determined with the laser run, which combines running and shooting, starting at 7:10 p.m. local time. Woo tied for third in the qualification Wednesday after jumping over 2.27 meters. He is the owner of the South Korean record at 2.36m, and his best mark for this season is 2.33m. Woo finished in fourth place at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with the then national record height of 2.35m, just 2 centimeters behind the bronze medalist, Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus. Woo has grown by leaps and bounds since that close call, winning the 2022 world indoor title and finishing second at the 2022 world outdoor championships. In 2023, he became the first South Korean athlete to win a gold at the Diamond League Final, an exclusive-field event featuring only the top performers in each event. No South Korean has won a track and field medal. Both of South Korea's medals in athletics have come in marathon, a road event. Woo will be up against co-gold medalists from three years ago, Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy. Jun will try to become the first South Korean modern pentathlete to win back-to-back Olympic medals. He won bronze at the world championships in June. Also on Saturday, Lee Da-bin will compete in the women's +67-kilogram taekwondo event. She will be the last of four South Koreans to take action in the country's traditional martial art. Lee settled for silver in Tokyo while battling effects of a left foot surgery. The 27-year-old will now look to add an Olympic gold to the resume that includes two Asian Games gold medals and one world title. B-boy Kim Hong-yul, better known by his stage name Hong 10, will compete in breaking, the dance competition making its Olympic debut. Source: Yonhap News Agency