Jung Sonsuk ( cor. 정성숙 , January 26, 1972 ), a Korean judoist in the light and welterweight categories, played for the South Korean national team in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. Bronze medalist of the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta and Sydney, world champion, Asian champion, five-time Asian champion, winner of many tournaments of national and international importance.
| Jung Sonsuk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Citizenship |  The Republic of Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of Birth | January 26, 1972 (aged 47) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 165 cm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight category | welterweight (up to 61 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biography
Jung Sonsuk was born on January 26, 1972.
The first serious success at the adult international level was in 1993, when she got into the main team of the Korean national team and visited the Asian Championships in Macau, from where she brought the gold dignity prize won in the welterweight category. A year later, she won a gold medal at the Asian Games in Hiroshima, a year later in the same weight she was the best at the Asian Championships in New Delhi and at the World Championships in Chiba.
In 1996, Jong won the Asian Championships in Ho Chi Minh City and, thanks to a series of successful performances, won the right to defend the country's honor at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta . She prevailed over the first three rivals, but at the stage of the semi-finals she lost to Belgian Gella Vandekavey , the current European champion. In the consolation match for third place, Yael Arad from Israel defeated and was forced to be content with a bronze Olympic award.
At the 1997 Asian Championships in Manila, Chung passed all her rivals, including Japanese Kie Kusakabe in the finals, and for the fourth time in a row won the welterweight gold medal. While at the World Championships in Paris she became a bronze medalist, having been defeated at the stage of quarter-finals by the representative of Spain, Sara Alvarez . The following season, went down to the light weight category and performed at the Asian Games in Bangkok, where she also received bronze. In 2000, in the under 63 kg category, she was the best at the Asian Championships in Osaka, thus becoming a five-time Asian judo champion. Being among the leaders of the judo team of South Korea, she successfully qualified for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney - this time she lost to the Frenchwoman Severin Vandenkhende in the opening match, who eventually became the Olympic champion. Nevertheless, in consolation meetings for third place, she prevailed over all four rivals and was thus awarded a bronze award.
After the Sydney Olympics, Jong Sonsuk remained in the main part of the Korean national team for some time and continued to take part in major international tournaments. So, in 2001, she performed at the Grand Prix in Seville, where she took fifth place in the welterweight category. Soon after the end of these competitions, she decided to end the career of a professional athlete, giving way to young Korean judokas in the national team.
Links
- Jung Sonsuk - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
- Jung Sonsuk - profile on judoinside.com