Yeo Seo-jeong (; born 20 February 2002) is a South Korean artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, the 2023 World bronze medalist, the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

champion, and a two-time Asian champion on vault. She is the first South Korean female gymnast to win an Olympic medal and also the first to win a

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

medal.

Early life

Yeo Seo-jeong was born on 20 February 2002 in

Yongin-si Yongin (; ) is a city in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, the largest in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population over 1 million, the city has developed rapidly since the 21st century, recording the highest population growth of any city in th ...

. Both of Yeo's parents are retired gymnasts. Her mother won a team bronze medal in the

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games (), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games () or simply Hiroshima 1994 (), were held from October 2 to 16, 1994, in Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first Asian Games in history to be hosted in a non-capital city. Th ...

, and her father,

Yeo Hong-chul Yeo Hong-Chul (; born 28 May 1971 in Gwangju) is a retired South Korean gymnast. He participated in three Olympics, winning a silver medal, and retired after the 2000 Summer Olympics. Career Yeo won the silver medal in the vault event at the 19 ...

, was the 1996 Olympic silver medalist on vault. She said in 2018 that she enjoys vault because of her father. She graduated from Gyeonggi Physical Education High School.

Career

2018

Yeo won the all-around title at the South Korean National Championships. Then, she made her senior international debut at the Guimaraes World Challenge Cup and won the gold medal on vault. She was then selected to compete at the

alongside Ham Mi-ju, Kim Ju-ry,

Lee Eun-ju Lee Eun-ju (December 22, 1980 – February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She was the star of hit films including '' Taegukgi'' and '' The Scarlet Letter''. She died by suicide at age 24. Life and career Born in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, S ...

, and Yun Na-rae. The team finished in fourth place. Individually, Yeo won the gold medal on vault, and she placed ninth in the all-around, eighth on beam, and seventh on floor. She then competed at the

where she placed fifth in the vault final. Her final meet of the season was the Voronin Cup where she won vault gold, all-around silver, and floor exercise bronze, and she placed eighth on the uneven bars and balance beam.

2019

Yeo won the gold medal on the vault at the Melbourne World Cup. This was the first time that a Korean female gymnast won a gold medal in the FIG World Cup series. She placed fourth in the all-around at the Korean National Team Selection meet. At the 2019 Korea Cup, Yeo became the first woman to land the handspring double twist vault. She said of the new vault, "I was afraid, but once I started focusing on the competition, my fear disappeared. I am so happy that I was able to execute that. I wanted to land the new vault regardless of my final rankings today, and everything went my way." The vault was then named after her and added to the Code of Points. At the

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Yeo qualified to the vault final in fifth place with a score of 14.766. However, she finished last in the final after a fall and going out of bounds when attempting the handspring double twist vault. Because she qualified for the vault event final, Yeo qualified as an individual for the 2020 Olympic Games. After the World Championships, she competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial and placed ninth in the all-around. She also competed at the Swiss Cup alongside

Lee Jun-ho Lee Jun-ho (; born January 25, 1990), known mononymously as Junho, is a South Korean singer and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy band 2PM. Lee made his acting debut in the film ''Cold Eyes'' (2013) and has since starred in ''Twenty ...

, and they finished seventh as a team.

2021–2022

At the

2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, Yeo competed in the vault final and performed her eponymous vault, which had the highest difficulty value in the final. She finished with an average score of 14.733 and won the bronze medal behind Brazilian

Rebeca Andrade Rebeca Rodrigues de Andrade (; born 8 May 1999) is a Brazilian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Having won a total of six Olympic and nine World medals, she is the most decorated Brazilian and Latin American gymnast of all time, as well ...

and American

MyKayla Skinner MyKayla Brooke Skinner Harmer ( ; born December 9, 1996) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 2020 Olympic vault silver medalist, competing as an individual, and was an alternate for the 2016 Olympic team. Skinner competed at ...

. This made her the first South Korean female gymnast to win an Olympic medal. Yeo competed at the 2022 Asian Championships in June. While there, she helped South Korea finish second as a team behind China. Individually, she won gold on the vault and placed fifth in the all-around and on the floor exercise. She then competed at the 2022 World Championships and placed seventh in the vault final.

2023

Yeo competed at the 2023 City of Jesolo Trophy, helping South Korea win the team silver medal behind Italy. Individually, she won the gold medal on the vault and the silver medal on the balance beam. She then won the bronze medal in the all-around at the South Korean Championships. Then at the 2023 Asian Championships, she helped South Korea win the silver medal behind China. Individually, Yeo successfully defended her vault title. Yeo competed at the

where she helped Korea place 11th as a team during qualifications. In doing so, Korea qualified a full team to compete at the

2024 Olympic Games The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. Individually Yeo qualified for the vault final. During the final, Yeo performed two clean vaults and won the bronze medal behind

of Brazil and American

Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...

. This was the first World Championships medal won by a female South Korean gymnast.

2024

Yeo won the bronze medal in the all-around at the Korean National Team Selection competition, leading to her selection for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

team alongside Eom Do-hyun, Lee Da-yeong, Lee Yun-seo, and Shin Sol-yi.

Eponymous skills

Yeo has one eponymous skill listed in the Code of Points.

Competitive history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeo, Seo-jeong Living people 2002 births South Korean female artistic gymnasts Asian Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Hamyang Yeo clan Sportspeople from Yongin Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for South Korea Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for South Korea Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century South Korean sportswomen