Kim finishes ninth in World Championships qualifying…Kim falls to 50th place
Kim Na-hyun 14th, Kim Soo-jung 19th in women’s 1-meter springboard final

South Korean diving sensation Woo Haram (25, Korea Sports Promotion Agency) has qualified for the final of the men’s 1-meter springboard at the 2023 International Swimming Federation World Championships.

Uharam earned a total of 362.65 points in the first six heats of the men’s 1-meter springboard at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships on Thursday at the Fukuoka Prefectural Pool in Fukuoka, Japan, to finish ninth out of 63 competitors.

Uharam punched his ticket to the final, which is awarded to the top 12 qualifiers.

Uharam performed a 405B in the first period, “standing with his back to the pool, leaping into an inward motion with a forward plunge, and completing two and a half laps in a pike position with both legs extended,” and scored 71.40 points to move into second place.

After scoring high in the first period, Uharam slipped a bit in the second, but still managed to finish in the top 12 to qualify for the final.

The men’s 1-meter springboard final will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Feng Jianfeng (CHN), who won gold in the event at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, qualified first with 403.75 points.

Woo narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2019 Gwangju World Championships, finishing fourth on the 1-meter springboard.

Uharam is one of the biggest stars in South Korean diving. He has competed at the World Championships four times, starting in Barcelona in 2013, and in Gwangju in 2019, he finished fourth in the 3-meter springboard and was expected to podium.

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Uharam finished fourth in the men’s 3-meter springboard. This was also the best Olympic result for a South Korean diver.

Uharam missed last year’s World Championships in Budapest due to a back injury.

After rehabilitation, Uharam returned to technical training in March of this year and hasn’t expressed any medal aspirations ahead of this event. His primary goal was to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which is awarded to the 12 finalists in each Olympic discipline.

Uharam got off to a good start, reaching the final in the 1-meter springboard, a non-Olympic event.

Uharam will next compete in the men’s synchronized 3-meter springboard qualifier on Friday and the 3-meter springboard qualifier on Saturday.

His partner in the 1-meter springboard, Kim Young-taek (Jeju-do), missed out on a spot in the final after finishing 50th with 256.00 points.

The platform specialist will compete in the mixed synchronized 10-meter platform, men’s synchronized 10-meter platform, mixed team event and men’s 10-meter platform.

Both Kim Na-hyun (Gangwon-do) and Kim Soo-ji (Ulsan Metropolitan City) qualified for the women’s 1m springboard final.

Kim scored a total of 229.40 points in the first through fifth periods, placing her 14th out of 44 competitors.

Only 2.95 points separated Kim and Pamela Ware (CAN), who finished 12th with 237.35 points.

After tying for 29th place in the first period, Kim gradually improved her ranking over the course of the competition.

In the fifth and final period, she attempted a 105B, which required her to “start with both legs straight out in front of her, then bend her upper body into a pike motion to grab both legs and turn 2.5 times,” and earned a score of 50.70. This was good enough for seventh place in the fifth period.

However, she was unable to make up for her poor first and second runs and was eliminated from the competition.

Kim, who is competing at the World Championships for the first time, will only be competing on the 1 meter springboard. She was eliminated in the preliminary round, ending her first day of competition.

Kim, who won bronze in the women’s 1-meter springboard at the 2019 Gwangju Games to become South Korea’s only World Championships medalist in women’s swimming, finished 19th with a total of 229.40 points in periods one through five while battling back pain.

Kim will compete in the women’s 3-meter springboard, women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard, mixed synchronized 3-meter springboard, and mixed team events.

She will be looking to qualify for Paris, especially in the 3-meter springboard, which is an Olympic event.

In the women’s 1 meter springboard qualification, 고스톱 Lin San (CHINA) took first place with 291.25 points. Second place went to Li Yaze (CHN) with 283.35 points.