Korean Gymnast Arises from Poverty to Win Olympic Gold

From Korea Times: “Yang stood atop the podium after nailing an excellent pair of vaults including one judged to be the most difficult of the competition, which is even called ‘Yang Hak-seon’ after him. The three-twist front somersault was invented by the Korean and he is the only gymnast to currently execute it in the world. “As I was the last man to compete in the final, I planned to use the Yang Hak-seon when competitors posted more than 16.266 points,” he said. Yang took two big steps forward when he landed his first vault but the 7.4 difficulty rating _ two 10ths of a point higher than the second best competitor ― was enough to earn him 16.466. Then, he performed a 7.0 difficulty vault in his second effort to score 16.600 to bring the nation an elusive Olympic title.Who doesn’t love a heart warming story about an underdog achieving the ultimate victory?

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About Mihee

Mihee lives in the Mid-West with her husband, toddler-aged twins (yes, terrible twos is actually a thing), and baby #3. Though her reserve of brain cells is seriously depleted she is still passionate about Asian American culture, religion and social justice for marginalized people, stories about Korea, sports, and power naps. During the day, she spends a lot of time trying to remember which baby needs to eat or get a diaper change, mentoring and ministering to college students, occasionally taking a walk, writing, watching Sportscenter, or grabbing coffee. You can read her blog here.
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