South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyuk completed his fourth consecutive championship in the 2025 International Competition, and was in the same frame with Mahuchik after the game

South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyuk, 29, reached the top of the 2025 "What Gravity" Challenge, which features the likes of Paris 2024 Olympic champion Hamish Kerr. On the 10th, Beijing time, Woo Sang-hyuk won the men's high jump championship at the Katara Amphitheater in Doha, Qatar, with a jump of 2.29 meters. This year's "What Gravity" Challenge also featured a women's competition. After the women's high jump champion Mahuchik jumped 2.02m, Australia's Elena Patterson was second with 1.96m.

Woo Sang-hyuk (left) and Mahuchik, who won the 2025 Wat Gravity Challenge

It is reported that the "What Gravity" Challenge is a track and field high jump event hosted by the Qatari high jumper Barsim, who is still active but known as the "legend". In the first competition last year, Woo Sang-hyuk jumped over 2.31 meters like Barsim, but Balsim succeeded in fewer attempts, and Woo Sang-hyuk ended up in second place, and this time Woo Sang-hyuk came out on top in the second competition.

Although Barsim was selected for the men's high jump for the second competition, he did not participate in the competition, but played the role of "operator". Although there is no Barsim, 11 top men's high jumpers are competing for the title, including Paris 2024 Olympic champion Hamish Kerr, silver medallist Shelby McQueen (USA), and 2023 World Championships silver medallist Juben Harrison (USA).

Whenever Woo Sang-hyuk appears, Roger and pop star Bruno Mas sing "APT. Apartment" will be played on the spot. With the brisk rhythm of "APT. Apartment", Woo Sang-hyuk jumped up nimbly. Woo Sang-hyuk successfully completed 2.15m, 2.20m, 2.23m, and 2.26m in his first attempt. Up to 2.26 meters, the only player who has never failed is Woo Sang-hyuk himself. Favourite Hamish Kerr failed to jump past 2.23m, and Harrison was blocked by a 2.23m wall, raising Woo's chances of winning the title.

After winning the men's high jump at the 2025 What Gravity Challenge, Woo Sang-hyuk (center) poses for a group photo at the award ceremony

The runners who jumped over 2.26m included Woo Sang-hyuk, Akamas, and Raymond Richards (Jamaica). Woo Sang-hyuk touched the crossbar in the 1st and 2nd attempts of 2.29m. However, on the third attempt, I easily jumped this height. Akamas, who was in second place, and Richards, who was in third place, failed to jump 2.29m in the first three jumps, and Woo Sang-hyuk was a foregone conclusion. Woo Sang-hyuk then raised the bar to 2.33m, and he continued to challenge with the support of the women's champions, Ukrainian beauties Mahuchik and Barsim, but unfortunately he was unable to conquer this height.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, Woo Sang-hyuk won the fourth place in the men's high jump with 2.35 meters, becoming a world-class athlete. Then he couldn't stop and won the 2022 World Indoor Athletics Championships (2.34m), the 2nd place in the Outdoor World Championships (2.35m), and the 2023 Diamond Finals (2.35m). Although they finished seventh in the men's high jump (2.27m) at last year's Paris Olympics, they won back-to-back games again this year.

After winning the men's high jump at the 2025 Wat Gravity Challenge, Woo Sang-hyuk is taking a photo with Mahuchik, the first place in the women's category.

This year, Woo Sang-hyuk made his season debut at the Czech Justopeche Indoor Athletics Championships on February 9 and won the championship with a score of 2.31m, and on the 19th of the same month he won the Van Scavistricha competition in Slovakia with a score of 2.28m. At the 2025 World Indoor Athletics Championships in Nanjing, China, on March 21, he jumped 2.31m to become the king. So far, he has won the first place in the men's high jump in all three indoor international competitions held this year.

Woo Sang-hyuk, who had a happy end to the indoor season, became the tallest jumper in the "What Gravity" challenge, where most of the world's top athletes participated. Woo Sang-hyuk, who has won four consecutive international championships in the new season, will immediately return to China to prepare for the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships, which opens on May 27.

After the race, Woo Sang-hyuk said, "2025 will be a meaningful season for me. Thank you to everyone who supported me until the early hours of the morning, and I will run happily as I did today at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea in May. ”