Jo Gi Seoung of South Korea celebrates winning the gold medal in the Men's 50m Freestyle -S4 Final on day 10 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games

Giseong Jo

Swimming

Giseong Jo first rose to international prominence at the Incheon 2014 Asian Para Games at home in South Korea, winning gold in the 200m freestyle S4 and a series of other podium finishes.

Less than a year later, when he entered the pool at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow, Great Britain, all eyes were on him.

Inspired to take up Para swimming by the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, Jo went on to win two world titles in 100m and 200m freestyle S4 in Championship record time.

He also took silver in the 50m freestyle.

On his Paralympic debut at Rio 2016, Jo proved himself to be the man to beat, claiming three titles and beating established names such as Mexican Paralymic champion Gustavo Sanchez in the 200m freestyle.

Jo will be a concern to Sanchez as he goes for gold at his home World Championships in Mexico City from 30 September, 2017.

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment

Cerebral Palsy

Origin of Impairment

Congenital

Classification

S4, SB3, SM4

Further personal information

Occupation

Athlete, Student

Languages

Korean

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?

He began swimming at age 12.

Why this sport?

He became interested in swimming after watching a television broadcast of Korean swimmer Park Tae-Hwan win gold in the 400m freestyle the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. A coach encouraged him to take up the sport, and it was also beneficial for his rehabilitation.

Club / Team

Busan Para Sports Association: Korea

International debut

Year

2014

Competing for

Korea

Tournament

Asian Para Games

Location

Incheon, KOR

General interest

Hobbies

Spending time with friends, watching baseball. (paralympic.org, 25 May 2017; news.joins.com, 31 Jan 2020)

Most influential person in career

His mother and his older sister. (koreatimes.com, 10 Sep 2016)

Hero / Idol

Korean swimmer Park Tae-Hwan. (munhwa.com, 10 Oct 2018)

Awards and honours

He carried the Olympic torch during the relay for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (hankookilbo.com, 06 Nov 2017)

In 2017 he was given the Overcoming Award by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the Korean Athletics Awards. (seoul.co.kr, 13 Oct 2017)

In 2017 he received an Excellent Para Athlete Award at the Coca-Cola Korean Athletics Awards. (bokjinews.com, 14 Feb 2017)

He received the Best Athlete Award at the 2015 National Para Games in Republic of Korea. (mews.mk.co.kr, 01 Nov 2015)

Milestones

He became the first Korean swimmer to win gold in a freestyle event at the Paralympic Games when placed first in the S4 100m freestyle at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (paralympic.org, 25 May 2017; huffingtonpost.kr, 09 Sep 2016)

Ambitions

To represent Republic of Korea at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo as his last competition as part of the national team. (news.joins.com, 31 Jan 2020)

Impairment

He was born with cerebral palsy. (gg.go.kr, 05 Nov 2013)

Results

		Unit	Date	Rank

2015 IPC Swimming World Championships (Glasgow, Great Britain)
Event	Unit	Date	Rank
Men's 100 m Freestyle S4	Intermediate Time	2015-07-13	1
Men's 200 m Freestyle S4	Heat 1	2015-07-13	1
Men's 200 m Freestyle S4	Final 1	2015-07-13	1
Men's 50 m Freestyle S4	Heat 2	2015-07-14	2
Men's 50 m Freestyle S4	Final 1	2015-07-15	2
Men's 100 m Freestyle S4	Final 1	2015-07-16	1
Men's 100 m Freestyle S4	Heat 1	2015-07-16	1
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB4	Final 1	2015-07-18	8
Men's 100 m Breaststroke SB4	Heat 1	2015-07-18	8

Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Event	Unit	Date	Rank
Men's 100 m Freestyle S4	Final Round	2016-09-08	1
Men's 100 m Freestyle S4	Heat 2	2016-09-08	1
Men's 200 m Freestyle S4	Heat 2	2016-09-13	1
Men's 200 m Freestyle S4	Final Round	2016-09-13	1
Men's 50 m Freestyle S4	Final Round	2016-09-17	1