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Kim Gyu-ho, who quit his bank job to pursue his dream, placed 4th in the 80kg weightlifting class
Kim Kyu-ho (43), the star of disabled weightlifting, ranked 4th at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Kim Gyu-ho lifted 202 kg in the men's 80 kg weightlifting (powerlifting) class at the Paris Paralympic Games held at the Porte de la Chapelle stadium in Paris, France on the 6th (local time), placing 4th out of 9 participants.
He applied for 202 kg in the first round and lifted it easily, but failed to lift 207 kg in the second round.
By the second period, he was in 4th place. 3rd place was Rasul Mohsin (Iraq) who lifted 215 kg.
Kim Gyu-ho made a bold move. He applied for 216 kg in the third round.
He lifted the weight with all his might, but was unable to fully extend his elbows and was declared a failure.
Kim Gyu-ho, who finished the challenge without any regrets, greeted the audience with a bright smile.
The gold medal went to Ruhollah Rostami (Iran), who lifted a world record 242 kg.
The silver medal went to Gu Xiaofei (China), who successfully lifted 225 kg, and the bronze medal went to Mohsin, who recorded 215 kg.
Kim Gyu-ho lost his right leg in a bus accident in 1985, when he was four years old.
Kim Gyu-ho, who enjoyed both studying and sports, joined Woori Bank in 2012 through a special recruitment process for the disabled, and worked in the financial information team before resigning in October 2021.
It was to compete in the Paralympic Games, the ‘stage of dreams.’
He said ahead of this competition, "When I quit my job, my family and coworkers tried to dissuade me, and people around me said it was a bad choice," but added, "I wanted to show that it wasn't a bad choice."
Powerlifting, a Paralympic weightlifting event, involves lying on a bench and lowering the bar to the chest after the referee's starting signal, then lifting it back up to determine success or failure.
Each athlete has three attempts, and the athlete who lifts the heaviest weight wins.