South Korea's Woo Sang-hyeok competes in the men's high jump event of the Diamond League athletics meeting at the Olympic stadium in Rome on Aug. 30. (AFP-Yonhap)
South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok has finished third in the Diamond League Final, coming up short in his title defense at the prestigious athletics competition in Belgium.
Woo ranked third among six high jumpers after clearing 2.25 meters at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels on Saturday (local time). Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy won the title at 2.34m, followed by Oleh Doroshchuk of Ukraine at 2.31m.
The Diamond League Final is an exclusive-field event, open only to the best-performing athletes based on the points earned during the Diamond League season.
The men's high jump was contested at six of 14 Diamond League events, and Woo had finished third overall with 19 points to qualify for the season-ending event.
Last year, Woo became the first South Korean athlete to win a Diamond League Final title in Eugene, Oregon, after clearing 2.35m. He was also the first South Korean to even qualify for the Diamond League Final.
The third-place finish in Brussels caps an up-and-down season for Woo, who finished a disappointing seventh at the Paris Olympics last month, despite being pegged by many as a medal contender.
"I tried to do well here to make up for the disappointing result at the Paris Olympics, and it's really frustrating to settle for third place here," Woo said afterward. "But I will not give up, and I will try to show people that I can keep improving."
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