Shin Jea-hwan (Korean신재환; born March 3, 1998) is a South Korean artistic gymnast. He is the 2020 Summer Olympic champion on vault. He is a two-time World Cup champion on vault (2020 Melbourne, 2020 Baku).

Shin Jea-hwan
신재환
Personal information
Alternative name(s)Shin Jeahwan
Shin Jeah-wan
Shin Jae-hwan
Country represented South Korea
Born (1998-03-03) March 3, 1998 (age 26)
Seoul, South Korea
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior international elite
ClubJecheon City Hall
Medal record
Men's artistic gymnastics
Representing  South Korea
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 0
FIG World Cup 2 1 0
Total 3 1 0
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Vault
FIG World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2020 Baku Vault
Gold medal – first place 2020 Melbourne Vault
Silver medal – second place 2019 Zhaoqing Vault
Korean name
Hangul
신재환
Revised RomanizationSin Jae-hwan
McCune–ReischauerSin Chae-hwan

Personal life

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Shin was born on March 3, 1998, in Seoul. He attended the Korea National Sport University and graduated in 2020.[1] Shin relocated to Jecheon in 2021.[2] He looks up to teammate Yang Hak-seon.

Career

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Shin made his senior international debut at the 2019 Zhaoqing World Cup, where he won silver on vault and finished fourth on floor.[3]

Shin competed on vault and floor at several events on the 2020 World Cup circuit and won two golds on vault. After points were re-allocated to eligible gymnasts following the 2019 World Championships, he was leading the series to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics when the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed the 2020 series.[4]

In 2021, the International Gymnastics Federation decided at the last minute to hold the final event in the qualification process, the 2021 Doha World Cup; Shin chose to attend to preserve his series lead over Japanese gymnast Hidenobu Yonekura.[4] Despite placing fifth to Yonekura's first in Doha, Shin was able to win the overall series on a tiebreaker and qualify as an individual for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.[5]

At 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, he qualified for vault final in first place winning the tiebreak against Armenia's Artur Davtyan with both men scoring 14.866, but he ranked ahead due to his higher individual vault score (15.100 vs 15.000). In the vault final, he won the gold after ranking ahead in the tiebreak once more, this time against Denis Ablyazin of ROC. Both men scored 14.783, but he won yet again due to having his higher individual vault score (14.833 vs 14.800). This is South Korea's second gold medal on the vault apparatus after Yang Hak-seon won it at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

References

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  1. ^ Jang, Hyeon-goo (November 11, 2020). "'따라하고 알려주고'…양학선과 신재환의 체조 금메달 우애 경쟁" ['Follow me and let me know'...Hak-seon Yang and Jae-hwan Shin compete for gold medal in gymnastics]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean).
  2. ^ Son, Do-eon (July 4, 2021). "제천시청 소속 신재환·최경선, 일본 도쿄 올림픽 출전" [Shin Jae-hwan and Choi Kyung-sun from Jecheon City Hall to participate in Tokyo Olympics, Japan]. Joongdo Ilbo (in Korean).
  3. ^ "SHIN Jeahwan". International Gymnastics Federation.
  4. ^ a b Jang, Hyeon-goo (June 12, 2021). "체조 '비밀병기' 신재환 "도하 가서 꼭 도쿄행 티켓 따겠습니다"" ['Secret Weapon' Shin Jae-hwan: "I will definitely go to Doha and get a ticket to Tokyo"]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean).
  5. ^ "남자 기계체조 신재환, 도쿄올림픽 도마 종목 출전 확정" [Men's gymnastics Shin Jae-hwan confirmed to participate in the vault event at the Tokyo Olympics]. Hankyung (in Korean). June 27, 2021.
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