Korean Gymnast Son Yeon-jae now star in her own right

To be clear, Son Yeon-jae, the photo-friendly rhythmic gymnast, has always been uber-popular, evidenced by her ubiquitous presence in television commercials and print ads. But that had more to do with her being a rare athlete who was prettier than most supermodels and film actresses.

Now, it’s impossible not to take her seriously as an athlete. Since her surprising fifth-place finish at last year’s London Olympics, the 19-year-old has been showing rapid improvement in international competitions, giving men an excuse to stare at the television for longer.

Son ended the recent World Cup event in Minsk, Belarus, with two silver medals in hoops and clubs, becoming the first Korean ever to win multiple medals at a World Cup competition, which secured an overall fourth-place finish.

Son appears to be in the midst of the best season of her career. She started the year by winning a bronze in clubs at the Moscow Grand Prix in March. She finished ninth all-around and third in ribbons at the Lisboa World Cup in April and a sliver in ribbon at Pesaro weeks later.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, earlier this month, Son finished fourth all-around and shared the bronze medal in hoops with Ukrainian Ganna Rizatdinova. Her next goal is to win a gold in the Asian Championships in June and set a personal best at the World Championships in August.

”I have been competing in more international competitions than before and I think that the quality of my performance is becoming more consistent as I gain the weight of experience,’’ Son had told reporters before leaving for Minsk.

”The Asian Championships will be a preview of the Asian Games competition next year in Incheon, so I am certainly looking to show my best there.  Korea has never won a gold medal in rhythmic gymnastics in the Asian Games, and my goal is to deliver the first one. I will participate in as many competitions as I can before the August World Championships.’’

A performance that mixes balls, hoops, ribbons and juggling clubs, rhythmic gymnastics requires a high level of athleticism and artistic expression from competitors. And this is a sport that has been thoroughly dominated by athletes from Russia and Eastern Europe, while barely registering in the public consciousness elsewhere.

Korea’s definitely interested now: MBC television, the country’s second-biggest television station, yanked a popular late-night comedy show Sunday night to provide live coverage of Son’s performance in Sofia. That marked the third time the network rescheduled the show in less than a month to follow Son at her World Cup events.

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