Woo Sang-hyuk to jump at World Championships with over $200 million in prize money

‘Smile Jumper’ Woo Sang-hyuk (27, Yongin Special City Hall), who traveled to Europe with dreams of making a ‘golden leap’ on the world stage, is expected to receive about 200 million won in prize money if he makes a golden leap in the men’s high jump at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, which begins on May 19.

According to the prize pool released by the World Athletics Federation on Tuesday (June 10), the World Championships will pay out $70,000 (about $92 million) for the individual title, $35,000 ($46,000) for second place and $22,000 ($29,000) for third.

The top eight finishers will receive $16,000 ($21 million) for fourth, $11,000 ($14.5 million) for fifth, $7,000 ($9.2 million) for sixth, and $5,000 ($6.6 million) for eighth. In addition, athletes who set a world record will receive an additional $100,000 (approximately $131,000) as a special reward.

The Korean Association of Athletics Federations (KAFF) also specifies the prize money for the world championships in its performance enhancement (reward) regulations. For winning the world championship, athletes will receive 100 million won, 50 million won for the silver medal, and 20 million won for the bronze. If you include the reward money from Yongin Special City, where Woo Sang-hyuk is from, it is expected to be over 200 million won, which is a huge amount of money.

Woo leaped 2.35 meters in the men’s high jump final at the 2022 World Athletics Championships to win the silver medal behind Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim (2.37 meters).

For becoming the first Korean athlete to win a silver medal at a World Championships, Woo received a total of $96 million in prize money, including $46 million from World Athletics and $50 million from the Korean Athletics Federation.

At the Budapest World Championships, Woo will be one of the favorites. Experts believe it will be a three-way battle for the men’s high jump title between Woo, Barshim and Jubon Harrison (USA).

Woo will become the first Korean athlete to medal at back-to-back World Championships if he finishes in the medals rather than winning the title. Only Kim Hyun-seop and Woo Sang-hyuk have ever medaled at a World Championships, with Kim finishing third in the steeplechase at the 2011 Daegu Athletics Championships 꽁머니사이트.

Before departing for Europe on April 4, Woo said, “I prepared really well. I will definitely bring back the World Championships gold medal that I didn’t win in Eugene last year. I feel good and I’m really confident.”

Meanwhile, Woo Sang-hyuk will compete in the preliminary round at 5:35 p.m. KST on Aug. 20 and the final at 2:55 a.m. KST on Aug. 23. It will be interesting to see if he can win the first gold medal for Korean athletics and bring home riches and fame.