Son Yeon-jae Shows Off New Programs for Olympics

Published on 2016/01/24 | Source

Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae revealed her new programs for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August.

At the tryouts for the national team held in Seoul on Wednesday, Son performed her signature element fouetté pivot with a straight leg, which would earn her 0.2 extra points on technical difficulty, instead of folding it when turning.

Kim Ji-young of the Korea Gymnastic Association, said, "The difference when it comes to rankings in rhythmic gymnastics can come down to 0.1 point. Son wants to increase her chance of earning high scores by performing technically difficult elements".

In fact, Son was just 0.225 points behind Bronze Medalist Liubov Charkashyna of Belarus when she finished fifth at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Son performed her ribbon routine to Libertango, a change from the classical music she usually choses for her programs.

"I've wanted to perform tango for a long time, but I wasn't confident enough", Son said. "I decided to go with it this time because I want to show something new at the Olympics".

Son finished first with a total score of 71.300 points on Wednesday. She was somewhat disappointing in hoop and ball as she missed the apparatus and received 17.850 and 17.750, respectively. However, she had a clean performance in club.

"I will try hard to improve my weaknesses to win a medal at the Olympics", Son said after the competition.

Son will leave for Russia on Monday next week, and participate in a series of international competitions until the Olympics, starting with the Grand Prix in Moscow in February.