Yang Hak-seon, the South Korean gymnast known as the “God of Vault,” is determined to prove he’s more than a one-trick pony.
In an interview last weekend during practice at the National Training Center in Seoul, Yang, 21, said he’d like to win titles in rings and floor exercise at the upcoming Asian Games at home.
“I think I have a chance to win medals in floor exercise and rings,” Yang said. “I felt that way after competing at the Korea Cup in April.”
Olympic vault champion Yang Hak-seon (Yonhap)
Yang, who won the 2012 Olympic gold in vault, claimed the Korea Cup title in vault, too. He finished second in floor exercise and seventh in rings.
Yang said he used to specialize in rings before switching to vault in middle school. That the Asian Games will be held in the South Korean city of Incheon has also fueled his desire to win more medals.
“Since the Asian Games will be in Incheon, I think there will be a lot of Korean fans who want to see their athletes on the podium,” Yang said. “I’d like to make it to the podium as often as I can.”
In Asia, Yang has no viable threat to his throne in vault. In addition to his Olympic gold ― a first by any South Korean gymnast ― Yang won the 2010 Asian Games gold and the 2011 and 2013 world titles in vault.
Yang has refused to stay content. He has developed a new, more challenging technique, called “Yang 2,” having added an extra half rotation to an already difficult, triple-twisting “Yang 1.”
Yang said he is confident he can nail Yang 2 in competition, as long as his body holds up.
“I am not really working much on the technique itself because I’ve mastered it,” he said. “As long as I am in good form, I can execute it.”
Yang dealt with back pains last year and ruptured his quadriceps tendon during practice this year. Yang confessed his body is not what it used to be.
“I am not 100 percent yet, but I am training to make sure I will be by the start of the Asian Games,” he said of the Sept. 19-Oct. 4 competition.
“I am not really anxious. My plan is to follow my plan and do one thing at a time.”
He counted Ri Se-gwang as his main rival but also said some of his own teammates, such as Kim Hee-hoon and Park Min-soo, are also capable of winning a medal.
Those gymnasts may still try with all their might to upend Yang, but the Olympic champ said, “My biggest rival is really myself.” (Yonhap)
