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Alpine snowboard racer Park Hang-seung, 31, crossed the finish line of the men's snowboard cross SB-UL qualification race in the first run at the Jeongseon Alpine Center in Gangwon Province, Monday.
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| Alpine skier Park Hang-seung / Yonhap |
His Paralympic debut race, however, didn't discourage him. He still has races to come during the rest of the Paralympics.
Park is a medal favorite in the men's banked slalom, finishing fourth at the 2017 World Para Snowboard World Cup.
His wife Kwon Ju-ri, 31, said she regretted her husband's Paralympic debut race but his disqualification in the first race has not disappointed her. "There are still games, so he should be fine," she said. She cheered her husband.
Kwon, a theater actress, has Park's back. Her unwavering support and love for her husband has lifted Park up.
The two met in 2011 through a blind date. It was love at first sight.
"He was a pleasant guy and I thought he was very attractive, too," his wife said in a media interview. "I couldn't see any major differences between him and other men having no physical impairment."
The two fell in love and married in 2015, four years after they met.
Park knows he wouldn't have made his Paralympic debut without his wife who fully supported him emotionally and financially since 2014 when he decided to be an alpine snowboard racer while watching the Sochi Paralympics.
Park was a teacher at a special education school. He found balancing work and training to fulfill his dream was almost impossible. Money had emerged as a realistic concern that could make or break his dream.
His wife encouraged him to focus fully on training. "It was a tough decision because a lack of income was a realistic issue," she said. Kwon gave a conditional nod to her husband and encouraged him to work hard for three years to join the Paralympics.
Kwon said she realized her income could barely cover the couple's three years' living expenses. Encouraged by his wife, Park quit his job.
Hard training had continued. He sweated eight to nine hours every day to make his dream come true.
Park's physical condition made it harder for him to practice. His right arm and right leg were amputated after he was hit by a truck when he was four years old. Balancing his body was tough.
He worked harder to overcome such physical disadvantages. He was selected as a national snowboard team member in 2016 and won the ticket to participate in the Paralympics.
