Korean national triathlon team on Saipan for month-long training
31 Mar 2016

By Junhan B. Todiño - junhan@mvariety.com - Variety News Staff

SOUTH Korea’s top triathlon athletes are here for a month-long training.
The national team led by its director and trainer Jinseop Shin, Heong Joon Lee and vice president Moonkyu Yoo arrived on March 2.
Jinseop Shin, through interpreter Dr. Sang Yoon of Saipan SDA Clinic, said it was their first time to visit Saipan but they are already “considering coming back here for [future] training.”
The athletes — six males and six females — swim in the waters off Paupau Beach, run at the Ada Gym track and field, and ride their bikes in the Capital Hill and Marpi areas.
Jinseop Shin said for their biking practice, they follow the route of the Hell of the Marianas century cycle race. Previously, he said the athletes trained in Australia or New Zealand, but a Korean friend recommended they try Saipan because the island is also good for training and “inexpensive.”
“It’s still winter in South Korea and New Zealand is getting cold this time of the year, so we decided to have our training on Saipan,” Jinseop Shin said.
The group will spend about $40,000 for the month-long training on island.Jinseop Shin said the athletes “are satisfied and comfortable” with the training areas on Saipan.
Their training is in preparation for an international competition in China this April and an upcoming triathlon championship in Horishima, Japan.
The South Korean athletes who are training here are Kim Ji Hwan, 25; Kim Ji Yeon, 26; Lee Jun Hyeong, 25; Seo Seung Hun, 22; Lee Song Nan, 24; Lee Eun Sung, 22; Lee Ji Homg, 24; Heo Minho, 26; Pyeon Cha Hee, 16; Jeong Hye Rim, 16; Om Solji, 15; and Nam Gihyeon,15.
Minho Heo is ranked number one among males while Hye Rim Jeong is the top ranked female. Minho Heo participated in the 2012 London Olympics and won the gold medal in the 2015 world triathlon competition, military division.



DR. SANG YOON OF SAIPAN SDA CLINIC, THE TRANSLATOR FOR THE VISITING TEAM, POSES WITH TEAM TRAINER AND DIRECTOR JINSEOP SHIN. PHOTO BY JUNHAN B. TODINO
The South Korean athletes who are training here are Kim Ji Hwan, 25; Kim Ji Yeon, 26; Lee Jun Hyeong, 25; Seo Seung Hun, 22; Lee Song Nan, 24; Lee Eun Sung, 22; Lee Ji Homg, 24; Heo Minho, 26; Pyeon Cha Hee, 16; Jeong Hye Rim, 16; Om Solji, 15; and Nam Gihyeon,15.
Minho Heo is ranked number one among males while Hye Rim Jeong is the top ranked female.
Minho Heo participated in the 2012 London Olympics and won the gold medal in the 2015 world triathlon competition, military division.

THE SOUTH KOREAN TRIATHLON NATIONAL TEAM POSES FOR A GROUP PH

In 2014 Incheon Asian Games’ mixed relay triathlon, Minho Heo, Ji Hwan Kim, Hye Rim Jeong got silver medals.
Hye Rim Jeong topped the 2015 Taiwan Asia Championship in the junior female division while Seung Hun Seo finished first in the male category.