“Thank you for welcoming me home as a former vice minister from the national team!”
The moment Jang Mi-ran, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, entered the weightlifting gym at the Jincheon National Training Center on the morning of the 16th, the leader and junior athletes welcomed him with warm applause. After exchanging greetings with weightlifting team coach Jeon Yong-seong, men’s national team coach Kim Dong-hyun, and women’s national team coach Park Jong-hwa, Sohn Young-hee, who was ‘the youngest in the same +87kg class’, handed a bouquet of flowers to ‘Legend National University Senior’ Vice Minister Jang. Young juniors of the MZ generation shouted in unison, “Sister is pretty!”
In a friendly atmosphere, Vice Minister Zhang delivered a warm message of support to the juniors ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games on the 38th. “There were setbacks due to the postponement of the Asian Games, but everyone is in the same situation, so I hope you train hard and achieve your goal without injury.” Again, warm applause poured in. Vice Minister Jang, who held hands with Park Hye-jung, who is raising expectations with ‘Post Jang Mi-ran’, and warmly greeted each player, encouraged training by saying, “Now, back squat!”
Vice Minister Jang did not forget the pleasant joke, “The facilities and space are much better than ours. I should have brought my workout clothes and tried back squats and jerks.” Women’s weightlifting 76kg national team member Kim Soo-hyun (28) held out her weightlifting belt to Vice Minister Jang, saying, “Sister, please sign me.” Vice Minister Jang waved his hands, saying, “I have to train,” and then turned around with a sad expression, called his junior back and carefully signed his autograph. Kim Soo-hyun smiled brightly, saying, “I received the energy of winning the gold medal.” National team coach Kim Dong-hyun, who is Jang’s senior as a player and the husband of ‘Chang Vice-minister Coach’ coach Kim Soon-hee, said, “As a sports person, I am so thrilled and proud that a junior I worked out with became a vice minister and came back to the weightlifting gym.” Vice Minister Jang’s support was a great source of strength for our players, who are working hard in the middle of the summer.” Everyone’s eyes lingered on the photo of Vice Minister Chang during his time as an athlete who won the Grand Slam in Doha, Guangzhou Asian Games, Athens, Beijing and London Olympics hanging in the corner of the weightlifting hall, and Vice Minister Zhang burst into laughter.
On this day, Vice Minister Chang stopped by the swimming pool first. General manager Lee Jeong-hoon and coach Jeon Dong-hyun explained strategic events such as the Hangzhou Asian Games freestyle 200-400m and relay 800m. Vice Minister Jang seemed to be constantly careful not to interfere in the slightest way with the players’ training. He saw that only the names of four members of the “Strategy Team,” including Hwang Seon-woo and Kim Woo-min, were displayed on the monitor displaying the training heart rate, and asked, “What about the other players?” At Coach Lee’s words, “We are managing the heart rate of all players equally,” Vice Minister Jang was relieved and said, “I’m afraid that players without names will be sad.” It was a look that took care of even a very ordinary player. As soon as Kim Seo-young, the ‘Little Mermaid’ who was with Taereung, saw Vice Minister Jang, he ran to say, “Hello!” Vice Minister Jang was also pleased, saying, “It’s the same, my skills are getting better.” Kim Woo-min, the ‘descendant of Park Tae-hwan’ at the Hangzhou Asian Games, smiled broadly, saying, “It’s the first time I’ve met today. I feel like I’m receiving good energy from the legendary seniors directly cheering me on ahead of the Asian Games.”
After retiring at the end of the 2012 London Olympics, she became her vice minister and visited Jincheon Athletes Village for the first time, but she seemed as comfortable as her home. The dignity of a warm-hearted sportsman senior was felt in every word and every step.
At the taekwondo gym, she showed the manners of a player who took off her shoes and climbed barefoot on the mat, and at the badminton gym, she did not forget to cheer meticulously for each event, such as asking the national team players to adjust their physical condition in the Hangzhou Asian Games and World Championships. Encouraging players by holding hands, and when the coach introduced ‘World Champion’ Ahn Se-young, Vice Minister Jang of ‘World Class’ gave a humble greeting, saying, “I saw you on TV.” He shouted vigorously together with his junior badminton players, “Fighting Korea sports! Fighting Hangzhou Asian Games!”
Right after winning the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jincheon National Training Center with her ‘best friend’ Park Tae-hwan. Feelings are bound to be new. In response to a reporter’s question, Vice Minister Jang said, “At that time, it was a really empty field. It was the first time I came to Jincheon National Training Center after retirement, and I was new to the thought, ‘This is the place.’ I hope you do well in your role.”
When asked how he felt about visiting the weightlifting gym again, Vice Minister Jang smiled, saying, “Actually, I still do barbell exercises two or three times a week. I’m used to the weightlifting. I’d like to bring my workout clothes and try it out, but I won’t be disturbed by the players, so I’ll put up with it.” . When weightlifting juniors all called ‘sister’ and followed him, he joked, “I need education,” and then said, “I was also a senior before the vice minister, and I was grateful that the juniors greeted me warmly. When I was an athlete, the youngest became the seniors. To the seniors I hope that he will pass on what he has learned to his juniors and lead the atmosphere well.”안전놀이터
On the 38th day before the Hangzhou Asian Games, as the only grand slammer in women’s, Vice Minister Zhang did not forget to give careful advice. He said, “You must have already prepared well. Now, while adjusting the amount of training, focus on technique, take care of nutrition, and recover well from fatigue to maintain good condition every day.” “In order to do our best, we must be careful of injuries above all else. Injuries come unexpectedly when we are relaxed. And the last comment was “Republic of Korea national team fighting!” It was a warm cheer for the juniors.
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