January 09, 2013 09:13
Jang Mi-ran, considered the greatest weightlifter Korea has ever produced, has decided to retire, her team based in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province said on Tuesday. The decorated lifter will hold a press conference to explain her decision in Goyang City Hall on Thursday.
Jang became the first woman to win the World Weightlifting Championships four times -- in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009 -- and the first Korean female lifter to grab Olympic gold, a feat she managed in Beijing in 2008.
She established a foundation to help athletes in less popular sports fields last February and is currently taking a PhD in physical education at Yongin University. She is expected to focus on her studies and supporting the foundation after she retires.
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