Gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong named MVP of National Sports Festival after four golds
In short
Gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong (여서정) was chosen most valuable player of the 107th National Sports Festival in Jeju, with 30 of 56 votes in a press vote announced on 22 October. She won four golds, one silver and one bronze, and is the first gymnast to take the award in 14 years.
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Gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong (여서정) of Jecheon City Hall was chosen most valuable player of the 107th National Sports Festival. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee announced on 22 October that she received 30 of 56 votes in a press vote. Yonhap, Dong-A Ilbo and Newsis put her share at 53.57%, while other outlets gave 53.6% or 53.7%. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 ]
Outlets said a gymnast had not won the award since Sung Ji-hye in 2012, 14 years ago. Yonhap and Chosun Ilbo said she is the third gymnast to be MVP, after Kim Kyung-hoon in 1986 and Sung. Yeo receives prize money of 5 million won and a trophy. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
Gymnastics was held before the opening ceremony at Halla Gymnasium in Jeju. On 7 October Yeo won gold in the women's senior individual all-around with 52.966 points and silver in the team event with 190.000. On 9 October she won gold on vault (14.083), balance beam (13.233) and floor (13.000), and bronze on uneven bars (12.700). Her four golds, one silver and one bronze were the best result among senior-division competitors, according to Yonhap and Hankook Ilbo. [ 1 , 4 ]
Several swimmers also had strong meets, but Yeo took the vote. Kim Seo-yeong (김서영) won four golds and a silver, Kim Yeong-beom (김영범) four golds, and Hwang Sun-woo four golds plus one exhibition gold. Hankook Ilbo reported that Hwang, a four-time winner of the award, tried to tie Park Tae-hwan's record of five MVP awards and did not. [ 1 , 4 ]
Yeo is the daughter of Yeo Hong-chul (여홍철), executive director of the Korea Gymnastics Association and a silver medallist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She won bronze in vault at the Tokyo Olympics and golds in vault at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Dong-A Ilbo and Newsis said the Aichi-Nagoya title came eight years after the 2018 win and followed shoulder and Achilles tendon injuries. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 ]
Yeo, who is competing at the world championships, said through the committee that she was glad and honoured to be chosen, and that being chosen for the first time made it more meaningful. She added that she would work to show better form in future. [ 8 , 12 ]
The festival closed on 22 October at Jeju World Cup Stadium. Gyeonggi Province won the overall title for a fifth straight year with 67,273 points and 424 medals, ahead of Gyeongbuk with 54,888 and Seoul with 54,186, according to Newsis. The 108th festival is to be held from 8 to 14 October next year in Gyeonggi Province, Newsis reported. [ 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
Why it matters
The vote ended the bid of swimmer Hwang Sun-woo (황선우) to tie the record for most MVP awards at the festival. For gymnastics, the outlets note it is the first MVP from the sport since 2012.
Key facts
- The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (대한체육회) announced on 22 October that Yeo Seo-jeong of Jecheon City Hall (제천시청) was MVP of the 107th National Sports Festival. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- She received 30 of 56 votes in a press vote. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 ]
- She won four golds (all-around, vault, balance beam, floor), a team silver and an uneven bars bronze, for six medals. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- She is the first gymnast to be MVP since Sung Ji-hye in 2012, and the third after Kim Kyung-hoon in 1986. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- She receives prize money of 5 million won and a trophy. [ 1 , 3 , 4 ]
- Gyeonggi Province won the overall title for a fifth straight year with 67,273 points. [ 6 , 7 , 11 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Yeo Seo-jeong was selected MVP of the 107th National Sports Festival on a press vote of 30 of 56. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 8 ]
- A gymnast had not won the MVP award since Sung Ji-hye in 2012, 14 years earlier. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 ]
- Yeo won six medals in women's senior artistic gymnastics: four golds, one silver and one bronze. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 11 ]
- Gyeonggi Province won the overall title for the fifth year in a row, ahead of Gyeongbuk and Seoul. [ 6 , 7 , 10 , 11 ]
Still unclear
- The exact vote share for Yeo. Outlets give 53.57%, 53.6% and 53.7% for the same 30 of 56 votes.
- How many titles Yeo won. One outlet's headline says six titles, while its text and other outlets say four golds and six medals in all.
- The year of Yeo's Tokyo Olympics bronze in vault. Outlets give 2020 and 2021.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Yonhap reported that Yeo Seo-jeong was named MVP of the 107th National Sports Festival. [ 1 ]
- The festival's closing ceremony began at Jeju World Cup Stadium. [ 14 ]
- Yonhap reported that Gyeonggi had won a fifth straight overall title as the festival closed, with Yeo as MVP. [ 6 ]
- Newsis reported Yeo's comments, passed on through the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, on being chosen MVP. [ 8 ]