 Lee Yeon-hwa, a 20-year-old female competitive weightlifter, will come back with a gold medal from the Asian Youth Weightlifting Championships held in Qinhuangdao, China. As soon as Lee knew the gold was in her hands, she called her parents, who live in Jeju Island. Lee said it is gratifying to finally pay back her parents for what they have done for her all these years, making a living by selling vegetables at a local market.
When Lee first starting hoisting barbells, she was only a first year student in Jeju Girls' High School. She took to the sport swiftly, training during the day and lifting barbells at night around delivering vegetables by motorcycle - with callused hands.
At her senior year of high school, she won three gold medals at a national competition. After joining the official Jeju province team, her skills improved enough to earn her the top spot at the Jeju Sports Tournament. Lee got hold of silver during the National Sports Tournament last year. After all these, she was finally selected as a member of the national team this year, winning two gold medals and establishing her name in the history of Korean women weightlifting.
The team's coach, Oh Seung-woo, pointed out that Lee's physical strength is superb and she is a diligent athlete. If Lee can manage to improve her upper body strength, she can be one of the best female weightlifters in the world, Oh said.
Lee's next goal is to go to Vancouver to participate in the Women's World Weightlifting Championships in November, then compete in the Olympics in Athens next year.
(Choi Hyung-seok, cogito@chosun.com )
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