(Olympics) Diver goes for 1st medal in springboard

Woo Haram owns the record for the best Olympic performance by a South Korean diver, with his fourth-place finish in the men’s 3-meter springboard event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

He will try to improve on that and grab the country’s first-ever diving medal, when the preliminary for the 3m springboard takes place Tuesday, starting at 10 a.m. at Olympic Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, north of France, or 5 p.m. in South Korea.

The semifinal will be Wednesday, followed by the final on Thursday.

Woo has said he was lucky to finish fourth in Tokyo because he hadn’t trained as much as he wanted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to the buildup for Tokyo, Woo said he feels much better physically, with his nagging lower back issues also fully behind him.

Fellow South Korean Yi Jae-gyeong will compete alongside Woo on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, South Korea will go up against Croatia in the round of 16 in the men’s table tennis team competition at 10 a.m. in Paris.

If the trio of Lim Jong-hoon, Jang Woo-jin and Cho Dae-seong get past Croatia, they will likely run into world No. 1 China in the quarterfinals, scheduled for later Tuesday.

Lim will chase his second medal in Paris after winning the mixed doubles bronze medal.

Sport climber Seo Chae-hyun will enter the boulder semifinal of the women’s boulder & lead combined event on Tuesday. The 20-year-old won the silver medal in the combined event at last year’s Asian Games.