Four female soldiers from the Republic of Korea Army's Special Warfare Command, who won the gold medal in four-way formation skydiving at the 45th World Military Parachuting Championship (WMPC) in Gussing, Austria, on June 29 hi-five members of runner-up Morocco. (Official homepage of 45th WMPC)
By Jung Joo-ri and Kim Hayeon
Female soldiers from the Republic of Korea Army's Special Warfare Command have won a gold medal at the World Military Parachuting Championship (WMPC) for the first time.
The winning team -- Master Sgts. Kim Seong-mi, Lee Ji-sun and Lee Jin-young and Sgts. 1st Class Park Yi-seul and Lee Hyun-ji -- from June 20-30 won the four-way formation skydiving event at the 45th edition of the tournament in Gussing, Austria.
The event requires four participants to create a formation fast and accurately by grasping one another's arms and legs after jumping from an aircraft 3.2 km above ground. Korea won the competition with a score of 187, followed by Morocco (173) and France (140).
Four female soldiers from the Republic of Korea Army's Special Warfare Command who won the gold medal at the 4-Way Formation Skydiving event of the 45th World Military Parachuting Championship (WMPC) in Gussing, Austria, are shown during the competition. (Screen capture from tournament's official homepage)
This is Korea's first gold in the tournament 46 years after the nation's debut at the WMPC in 1976. The women also won the bronze in team accuracy landing and finished second overall by placing sixth in individual accuracy landing and eighth in freefall style.
Ranging in age from 29-39, the soldiers conducted high-level training for several months to prepare for the championship. They reported for work before dawn, trained in the event "high altitude low opening" during work hours and repeatedly practiced after work the event "wind tunnel" to master descent formation.
After returning home from the competition, Lee Jin-young on July 2 told Yonhap News, "I was proud to hear the national anthem while all participants were saluting our national flag Taegeukgi," adding, "Words cannot express the emotion that flowed in our hearts at the time and our pride in representing the Republic of Korea."
For the men, Korea's six-member team finished ninth overall by finishing eighth in four-way formation skydiving.
The annual WMPC this year saw 277 competitors from 32 countries. Germany won the men's competition and France the women's.
etoilejr@korea.kr
