Hak-sun Yang, a member of Korea’s national gymnastics team, who specializes in vault was reported to have ended training early for the 17th Incheon Asian Games due to a minor hamstring injury.
Today, the Korean gymnastics team was going through their last training session together at the Namdong Athletics Center in Korea. However, Yang had to end his part early and was taken straight to a hospital, not being able to test out his new technique that he will be performing at the actual tournament.
During the 2012 London Olympics, Yang’s technique dubbed “Yang Hak-Sun” after the gymnast himself involved spinning 3 times in the air after the athlete’s hands come into contact with the vault. This technique earned Yang the gold medal for men’s vault, Korea’s first gold medal in history for gymnastics. For the 2014 Asiad, Yang and his coach had been working on a new technique they dubbed “Yang Hak Sun 2” where Yang would be spinning 3 and a half times in midair after touching the vault, a total of 1260 degrees.
However, because of the pains in his hamstring, the team had decided it would not be wise for Yang to test out such a risky and demanding move. Yang himself told Yonhap News that until he gets better, he will try to focus on the basics for the upcoming tournament.
Yeongsam Joo, the coach for Korea’s gymnastic nationals told Yonhap that Yang’s overall condition has gotten worse since their first official training two days ago, but refused to comment any further. Although the injury is only minor, the hamstring is a muscle that takes a long time to recover. Vault is an event that requires immense strength from the thighs.
Men’s gymnastics preliminary rounds will be taking place on the 21st at Nam Dong Athletics Center, and many of Yang’s fans are hoping he will once again win the gold medal for Korea in gymnastics.
