South Korean women’s modern pentathlon hopeful Seong Seung-min (Korea Gymnastics Team), who reached her first Olympic final, said she was disappointed with her shooting in the semifinals and vowed to make no mistakes in the final.
“I didn’t panic in the riding, which I was worried about, and finished well, but my shooting didn’t go well,” Sung told Yonhap News Agency after the women’s semifinals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Tuesday at the Modern Pentathlon Stadium at the Palace of Versailles in France.
In the semifinals, Sung finished fourth out of 18 athletes in Group A with a total of 1,400 points in fencing, swimming, equestrian and laser run (shooting plus athletics) to qualify for the final, which is reserved for the top nine athletes.
The 2003-born athlete, who won the women’s individual title at this year’s World Championships, reached the final in her first Olympic Games, keeping her hopes alive of winning South Korea’s first Olympic medal in the women’s modern pentathlon.
“The sound was different because it was the Olympics and there were so many spectators, and I thought, ‘This is the Olympics,'” Seung-min said, adding, “I expected it, but when I ran, I couldn’t shoot well. Especially when I was shooting, there was a French athlete next to me, so I couldn’t help but look at him.”
In the laser run, where the start times are based on the results of the previous events, Seung-min started nine seconds behind the leader and moved up to second place after the halfway point, but a mistake in the shooting prevented him from advancing and he finished fourth.
“I think it will be helpful to feel this atmosphere once today,” Seung-min said, emphasizing that he will try to finish well in tomorrow’s final without making any mistakes.
“My first goal was to reach the final, and I promised myself that I would finish well and not get injured, especially in the riding, and I think that part came true,” he said, reflecting on his journey to the final, adding, “Tomorrow I will focus on the riding first and pay attention to the shooting.”
Veteran Kim Sun-woo (Gyeonggi Provincial Office), who finished fifth (1,396 points) in Group B and 파워볼실시간 also qualified for the final, was the first to point out the shaky shooting.
“In the dressage, I had a good horse and got the feel of it quickly, so I did well, but in the shooting, I got shaky because there were a lot of spectators. I didn’t think it would happen, but it was different (from other competitions),” she said, adding, “I had a lot of thoughts that I need to be more mentally prepared for tomorrow.”
The modern pentathlon stadium, built across the Grand Canal from the Palace of Versailles, was packed with more than 15,000 people in adjustable seats as Sung competed in Group A and Kim competed in Group B alongside hosts France.
“At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the stadium was big and spacious, so even if there were spectators, it didn’t affect me this much,” said Kim, who is competing in her third Olympics, “and at the 2021 Tokyo Games, there were no spectators. It was the first time I felt so much attention, so I was very shaken,” he said, adding, “If I have a good start tomorrow, I will be able to do well until the end.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll have Seungmin with me, so I think we can both do well if we rely on each other,” he said.