Nickname
Princess of Vault, Fairy of Vault, Crybaby (hankookilbo.com, 16 Jan 2020; nocutnews.co.kr, 02 Jul 2019)
Hobbies
Watching YouTube videos, jigsaw puzzles, listening to music, gem painting. (POSCO TV YouTube channel, 07 Sep 2021)
Occupation
Athlete
Spoken languages
Korean
Club
Jecheon City Hall: Republic of Korea
Coach
Lee Kwang-Yeon [club], KOR; Lee Jeong-Sik [national], KOR
Sporting relatives
Her father Yeo Hong-Chul represented the Republic of Korea in artistic gymnastics. He won a silver medal on vault at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and claimed gold on vault at the Asian Games in 1994 and 1998. He worked as a television commentator at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Her mother Kim Yoon-Ji also represented the Republic of Korea in artistic gymnastics, and won a bronze medal in the team event at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan. (newsis.com, 01 Aug 2021; news.khan.co.kr, 21 Jan 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 07 Aug 2018; kyeonggi.com, 20 Mar 2018; sports.chosun.com, 24 Jun 2012)
International senior debut
2018
Injuries
In 2021 she suffered an injury to her ankle. She was still dealing with the issue at the 2022 World Championships in Liverpool, England. (gymnastics.sport, 28 Oct 2022; news.sbs.co.kr, 04 Sep 2022)
Back trouble meant she was unable to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. In December 2021 she was affected by further back issues. (KBS2, 19 Jan 2022; news.sbs.co.kr, 08 Oct 2021)
She injured her shoulder in late 2019 and returned to training in January 2020. (isplus.live.joins.com, 23 Jan 2020)
She injured her ankle after a bad landing on vault at the 2019 World Cup event in Melbourne, VIC, Australia. She withdrew from the balance beam and floor exercise at the competition. (msn.com, 27 Feb 2019)
Start sporting career
She took up the sport in 2010.
Reason for taking up the sport
She was influenced by her parents, who both competed in the sport. They built a balance beam on the balcony of their apartment.
Milestones
She became the first female gymnast representing the Republic of Korea to win a medal at the Olympic Games by claiming bronze on vault at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. The medal also made her and her father Yeo Hong-Chul the first father-daughter pair from the Republic of Korea to both win medals at the Olympic Games. Hong-Chul won silver on vault at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. (SportsDeskOnline, 27 Sep 2021; yonhapnewstv.co.kr, 01 Aug 2021)
Ambitions
To win gold on vault at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (weekly.donga.com, 14 Aug 2021)
Most influential person in career
Her father Yeo Hong-Chul. (KBS2, 16 Mar 2022)
Philosophy / Motto
"Never give up your dream. You will have a successful future one day." (kid.chosun.com, 22 Jul 2019)
Awards
In 2019 she was given an Encouragement Award at the 65th Korean Sport and Olympic Committee Athletic Awards. (msn.com, 27 Feb 2019)
She was presented with a Grand Award at the 2018 Gyeonggi-do Athletics Awards in the Republic of Korea. (dailysportshankook.co.kr, 10 Dec 2018)
She received a Rookie Award at the 2018 MBN Women's Sports Grand Awards in the Republic of Korea. (joongboo.com, 10 Dec 2018)
Additional information
NAMED ELEMENT
In June 2019 the 'Yeo Seojeong' was added to the Code of Points for the vault by the International Gymnastics Federation [FIG]. The element, first performed by her at the 2019 Korea Cup in Jeju, Republic of Korea, involves a handspring forward and a salto forward with a 720-degree twist. This new element is a variation of Yeo 2, first performed in 1994 by her father Yeo Hong-Chul. (english.chosun.com, 27 Jun 2019; en.yna.co.kr, 26 Jun 2019; sportalkorea.com, 26 Jun 2019; ytn.co.kr, 26 Jun 2019; news.sbs.co.kr, 30 Jul 2018)
Last update : 2024-07-22
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