Woo Sang-hyeok reacts as he competes in the men's high jump final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on Aug. 10. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Woo Sang-hyeok, the South Korean high jumper known as "Smile Jumper," shed a few tears Saturday night at the main stadium of the Paris Olympics, where his medal hopes crashed and burned.

Those tears weren't so much for his own performance, as they were for his longtime coach, Kim Do-gyun.

Woo finished in seventh place with 2.27 meters at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, after failing to clear 2.31m in three attempts. With a season-best mark of 2.33m, Woo was regarded as a medal threat but wasn't close to his best.

"I guess this wasn't my day," Woo said. "I felt fine physically. This isn't the end for me, though. I will keep knocking on the door, and eventually, I will have my moment."

Woo tried to keep a smile on his face during his media scrum, but when the conversation turned to his relationship with Kim, Woo became emotional.

"Over the past three years, he has gone through so much more than I have," Woo said. "All I have to do is to follow the plans he lays out for me. But he has to sacrifice his personal life to train me. He has a family, but he spends 10 months a year on the road just to be with me. I really wanted to put a medal around his neck today."

Woo, 28, said he hopes he will have that chance at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in four years' time.

"There will be major competitions every year from here and on," he said. "I don't even have to look that far down the road. I will try to keep improving at the world championships and the Asian Games (in 2026), and hopefully it will take me to LA."

Woo said his performance Saturday made him realize just how much better he has to get.

"Even on a bad day like this, I have to be able to get something out of it," Woo said. "This is going to fuel me. My Olympics may be over, but my career is not over." (Yonhap)

Woo Sang-hyeok competes in the men's high jump final of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, Aug. 10. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul