Son Yeon-Jae

Son Yeon-jae
— Gymnast —
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Fairy
Country represented	South Korea
Born	(1994-05-28) 28 May 1994 Seoul, South Korea
Height	158 centimetres (5 ft 2 in)
Weight	42 kilograms (92 lb 10 oz)
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	South Korea
College team	Yonsei University
Head coach(es)	Elena Nefedova
World ranking	5 (2013 Season)[1] 9 (2012 Season)[2] 19 (2011 Season)[3]
Medal record Competitor for  South Korea Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Games Bronze 2010 Guangzhou All-around World Cup Final Silver 2013 St.Petersburg Hoop Bronze 2013 St.Petersburg Ribbon Summer Universiade Silver 2013 Kazan Ball Asian Championships Gold 2013 Tashkent All-around Gold 2013 Tashkent Hoop Gold 2013 Tashkent Clubs Silver 2013 Tashkent Ribbon Silver 2013 Tashkent Team

Son Yeon-jae (born 28 May 1994 in Seoul, South Korea) is a South Korean rhythmic gymnast. A member of the South Korean national gymnastics team, based in Taereung, Seoul.,^[4] she is the 2010 Asian Games bronze medalist, and is managed by the IB Sports agency. Son currently trains in Russia.

Athletic career

Son began gymnastics at a young age to help her lose weight. In 2009, she performed for the opening ceremony of Olympic and World figure skater, Kim Yuna's Fiesta on Ice. Son became a star in Korea after grabbing a medal in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, becoming the first Korean gymnast to do so. Soon after that, she went to Russia for long-term training.

Son Yeon-jae made her international debut at Corbeil-Essonnes International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament on May 2010. She placed 11th.^[5] At the 2010 World Championships, she placed 32nd in the individual all-around and did not advance into the finals.^[6] At the 2011 Grand Prix, she placed 19th in the individual overall with the total score of 100.700 points.^[7]

At the Grand Prix series held on February 2012, she tied for the 18th place^[8] with Wong Posh San with the total score of 100.850 in the individual overall and third in the Hoop final.^[9] On April 2012, Son became the first Korean rhythmic gymnast to medal at the World Cup Series, Category B by winning a bronze medal in the Hoop final in Penza, Russia, and placed fourth in the individual overall.^[10] On May 2012, she finished last in the Hoop final at the World Cup Series, Category B in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and placed fifth overall.^[6] Son finished second to last in the individual all-around at the World Cup Series, Category A in Sofia, Bulgaria.^[11]

2012 Olympics

Son placed 6th at the Qualifications. At the All-around finals, She was ranked 3rd in the rankings up to the 2nd rotation until a drop from her Clubs scored her a 26.750 points. Son placed 5th overall at the Finals with a score of 111.475 points. Son became the first Korean Rhythmic Gymnast to qualify and reach the All-around Finals at the Olympics.

In 2013, Son started her season competing at the 2013 Moscow Grand Prix where she won bronze in clubs, she competed at the 2013 Lisboa World Cup where she finished 9th in all-around and won bronze in ribbon. On 30 April 2013, Son got a silver medal in the ribbon finals at the 2013 Pesaro World Cup, it was the first time a Korean athlete won a silver medal at any discipline of a rhythmic gymnastic World Cup.^[12] Son finished 4th in all-around at the 2013 Sofia World Cup and shared the bronze medal in hoop with Ukrainian Ganna Rizatdinova. Son then competed at the 2013 Minsk World Cup where she finished 4th in all-around, at the event finals, she took the silver medals in hoop and in clubs who was tied with Russian rising star Yana Kudryavtseva, she finished 4th in ribbon and 7th in ball. Son competed at the 2013 Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where she became the first Korean rhythmic gymnast to win gold in the all-around, she also helped Team Korea win the silver medal. At the finals, Son won gold in hoop and clubs, she won silver in ribbon behind China's Deng Senyue and finished 4th in ball. She competed at the 2013 Summer Universiade where she finished 6th in all-around, she qualified to 3 event finals where she won silver in ball, placed 5th in clubs and 7th in ribbon. At the 2013 World Cup Final in St.Petersburg, Russia, Son finished 4th in all-around and in the event finals won silver in hoop, bronze in ribbon, placed 4th in clubs and ball. At the 2013 World Championships in Kiev, Ukraine, Son qualified to 3 event finals where she finished 7th in hoop, ball and 6th in clubs behind Deng Senyue. She finished 5th in the All-around at the 2013 World Championships again behind Chinese rival Deng Senyue who finished 4th.

Achievements

• first Korean rhythmic gymnast to win the Asian Championships
• first Korean and second Asian gymnast after Aliya Yussupova to win 2 medals in a single World Cup Final.

Variety Shows

Son appeared on two episodes 109 and 110 of SBS's variety show "Running Man" hosted by the "Nation's MC" Yoo Jae-suk together with athlete Park Tae-Hwan. She has also since appeared in episode 130 of KBS 2TV's variety show "Win Win", sharing about her hardships and struggles while training for competitions. Son also participated in episode 296 and episode 350 of MBC's variety show "Infinity Challenge", also hosted by MC Yoo Jae-suk.

Routine Music Information

Son in 2012

Detailed Olympic results

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Son Yeon-Jae.

• Son Yeon-Jae at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
• Rhythmic Gymnastics Results