South Korea’s Keun Bae Chun says that winning a gold medal at Rio 2016 in the men’s over 107kg is “almost impossible”.
South Korea’s Keun Bae Chun says that winning a gold medal at Rio 2016 in the men’s over 107kg is “almost impossible”.
The London 2012 powerlifting bronze medallist is hoping to climb onto the Paralympic podium again this September.
The 38-year-old powerlifter knows that beating Iran’s Paralympic and world champion Siamand Rahman is “almost impossible”, which is why he does not target Rio 2016 gold.
“It looks very hard to win the gold medal at the Paralympic Games,” Chun told Paralympic.org.
Rahman won gold at this year’s IPC Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai with a world record lift of 296kg and is widely expected to become the first man to break the 300kg-barrier at Rio 2016. Comparatively, Chun’s personal best is a still impressive 235kg, achieved at the Incheon 2014 Asian Para Games.
“I cannot do much against him, which is why my goal for Rio 2016 is to win a silver medal,” he said.
“It was great to finish third at the Asian Para Games, but I failed my three attempts at 240kg, which keeps me a bit worried.”
Chun believes his gold-medal performance at this year’s World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Rahman did not compete, can act as catalyst to Rio 2016 success.
“That achievement helps me stay optimistic towards the Paralympics. I really want to win the Paralympic silver,” he said.