Hong Su-jong

Hong Su-jong (born 9 March 1986 or 1989 in Hamgyong, North Korea) is a North Korean artistic gymnast. She is the 2007 World silver medalist on the vault. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the all-around and in the team event.

In this Korean name, the family name is Hong.
Hong Su-jong
Full nameHong Su-jong
Country represented North Korea
Born (1986-03-09) 9 March 1986
or (1989-03-09) 9 March 1989
Hamgyong, North Korea
Height146 cm (4 ft 9 in) [1]
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior
ClubPyongyang Sports Club
Head coach(es)Choe Kyong-hui
ChoreographerChoe Kyong-hui
MusicGrieg Concert by Austria
Retired2012
Medal record
Women's gymnastics
Representing  North Korea
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2007 StuttgartVault
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha All-around
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place2006 SuratTeam
Silver medal – second place2006 SuratVault
Bronze medal – third place2006 SuratFloor Exercise
Hong Su-jong
Chosŏn'gŭl
홍수정
Revised RomanizationHong Sujeong
McCune–ReischauerHong Sujŏng

She is the twin sister of Hong Un-jong.[2]

Career

Hong Su-Jong made the national gymnastics team in 2003. She competed in the 2003 Summer Universiade for her international debut. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the all-around, but did not qualify for the final. At the 2006 Asian Games she won a gold medal on the uneven bars, a silver medal on vault and with her team, and bronze in the all-around. She won a silver medal on vault at the 2007 World Championships. She injured herself before the 2008 Summer Olympics and was unable to compete.[1]

Hong was suspended for two years, from late 2007 to late 2009, following a positive test for furosemide at the Good Luck Beijing pre-Olympic test event.[3]

2010 age controversy

In October 2010, It was announced Hong Su-jong was under investigation after several discrepancies surfaced over her reported year of birth and age-eligibility for senior competition.[4]

Subsequently, North Korea was banned from taking part in the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, as the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique announced it was not satisfied with the explanation provided by North Korea for having entered Hong Su-jong with three different birth dates (1985, 1986 or 1989), in different competitions. In particular, she had taken part in the 2004 Olympics claiming to have been born in 1985; her subsequently announced birth date of 1989 meant that she would have been too young to compete in 2004.[5]

In November 2010, the F.I.G. announced that due to the age discrepancies, North Korean gymnasts were banned from all international competition until 5 October 2012. The North Korean Federation was also fined USD $20,800, and Hong specifically was banned from competing in even national competition within North Korea.[6]

Hong's age has never been officially established, but a video has surfaced in which Hong Un-jong, whose birth year is known to be 1989, states that Hong Su-jong is her twin.[2] If accurate, this would confirm that Hong Su-jong was underage during the 2004 Olympics.

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Hong Su-Jong". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  2. "Hong Un-jong admitting being twins with her sister at 1m40s" Choson Sinbo
  3. F.I.G. Proposal of Decision from the Disciplinary Commission to the attention of the Presidential Commission in the case of Ms. Hong Su Jong Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "One Woman, Three Birthdays". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  5. "Gymnastique: la Corée du Nord privée de Mondiaux", Associated Press, October 14, 2010
  6. "North Korea banned 2 years for age falsification" Associated Press, November 5, 2010
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