(Olympics) Weightlifter dedicates silver medal to late mother

PARIS, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- The person that Park Hye-jeong most wanted to see after winning her first Olympic medal Sunday in Paris is no longer with her.

Some four months after her mother, Nam Hyun-hee, succumbed to cancer, Park captured the silver medal in the women's +81-kilogram weightlifting at the Paris Olympics. It was South Korea's 32nd and final medal of this year's Olympics.

Park, 21, has been known for her exuberant celebrations on the platform and easy smile away from it. Both elements were on full display at South Paris Arena 6 on Sunday, as Park broke her own national records in the snatch and the total weight, and grabbed her silver medal with 299kg, 10kg back of the champion, Li Wenwen of China.

But when the conversation turned to her late mother, Park became emotional.

"If she had been around, she would have given me a big hug," Park said, fighting back tears. "I thought about her a lot today. I tried not to do that until the end of the Olympics because I didn't want to be distracted, but I couldn't help it."

Park thanked her family and her coaches for helping her get through some difficult moments leading up to the Olympics.

With Li, as the defending champion, well established as a heavy gold medal favorite, Park was largely regarded as a strong silver medal contender in Paris. But Park admitted to feeling some pressure to deliver on those expectations, though it was difficult to tell if Park had been feeling any stress at all, given the ease with which she went through her snatch portion.

She went from 123kg to 127kg and then to the national record of 131kg with little trouble.

"When I broke that record, it was exhilarating," Park said, flashing her signature smile. "I tried to make sure I would peak in time for the Olympics."

Park revealed that she tweaked her elbow during her third snatch attempt but it wasn't enough to derail her run to the silver medal.

Park picked up weightlifting during the first year in middle school after watching some old clips of South Korean weightlifting legend Jang Mi-ran.

Jang, currently the second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, retired with three Olympic medals in the women's super heavyweight division -- one each of gold, silver and bronze.

Jang started that run with silver in Athens in 2004 and soared to gold four years later in Beijing. She finished fourth in London but was elevated to bronze after third-place finisher from Armenia Hripsime Khurshudyan was disqualified for doping.

Park, often dubbed the second coming of Jang Mi-ran, also got the ball rolling in her Olympic career with a silver medal. As Park enters her prime, the weightlifting world should be in for a memorable duel between the South Korean and Li, still just 24 herself.

"I admire Li Wenwen, but I managed to narrow the gap with her here," Park said. "Maybe I will make things more interesting at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. I want to hear our national anthem and make the country proud in LA."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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