Twenty-one-year-old Son Yeon-jae, dubbed by local media as the "Fairy of Rhythmic Gymnastics," won her first Universiade medal in the host city of Gwangju.

Son topped the individual all-around rhythmic gymnastics tables in the competition held at the Kwangju Women's University Gymnasium during the 2015 Gwangju Summer Universiade on July 12, winning her first Universiade gold medal.

Son said that she didn't expect a gold because she started training relatively late this season because of an ankle injury. She had difficulty preparing for the Gwangju Summer Universiade, and her goal was to do well in the ball, hoop, clubs and ribbon competitions without making many mistakes.


Son received the highest scores in both the hoop and ball, 18.000 points and 18.150 points respectively, on July 11, showing high hopes for a win in the individual all-around final. In particular, she completed the ball routine flawlessly, despite worries over insufficient training due to the injury. In previous events, Son often made mistakes in her ball routine.

On July 12, Son obtained 18.050 points in the ribbon, also the highest score, although the end of her ribbon was nearly tied in a knot due to the high humidity from heavy rain that day. Son did not panic, however.

She then showed her elegant and charming clubs routine, presenting one of her trademark performances. Son was seemingly confident about her routine, pumping her fists at the end of her individual all-around performance. She received 18.350 points, thereby obtaining scores higher than 18 in all four routines and confirming her victory in the event. She also now enters each of the four individual events as the top seed.



"I actually never thought I would win the gold medal at this Universiade," she said. "Even though Mamun and Kudryavtseva were not here, I knew I'd still be competing with some of the best rhythmic gymnasts in the world. I am so glad that I won a gold medal unexpectedly. I still cannot believe it," she said with a smile.

Son has been under a lot of pressure from her Korean fans as she is competing in her home country, although there are also advantages, such as the fan support that comes from competing as an athlete from the host country. Son can theoretically win four more medals on July 13 and could become a five-time gold medalist.

"I am just going to concentrate on the games, since tomorrow will be a new beginning," said Son, without hiding her hopes for more medals.



"Luckily, whenever I get good results, I become first in everything," said Son. "I am very lucky."

If Son adds one more medal in the individual games of rhythmic gymnastics, she will also be the first Korean athlete to win multiple medals in rhythmic gymnastics at a Universiade.

By Jeon Han, Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photos: Yonhap News
jun2@korea.kr