Country represented South Korea Years on national team 2015-present | Residence Seoul, South Korea Height 1.48 m | |
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Born March 5, 1999 (age 18)
Shimonoseki, Japan ( 1999-03-05 ) Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics Level Senior International Elite
(South Korea national team) Club Kangwon Physical Education High School | ||
Lee Eun Ju (born (1999-03-05)March 5, 1999) is a South Korean female artistic gymnast. She represents her nation at international competitions. She won the bronze medal in the team event at the 2015 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships. She competed at the 2016 Gymnastics Olympic Test Event and was chosen to represent her country at the 2016 Olympic Games after their initial choice, Lee Go-im, was injured in training. Lee placed 53 in the all-around qualification, her best result being a 13.500 on the uneven bars.
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Lee came into the limelight during the Rio Olympics after she took a selfie alongside North Korean gymnast Hong Un-jong. A Reuters picture of the two smiling women was praised for capturing the spirit of the Games. IOC President Thomas Bach called the selfie a "great gesture".
Lee's mother is Japanese while her father is Korean. She was born in Shimonoseki, Japan, and moved to South Korea in 2013.
Career
Lee's senior international debut came at the Asian Championships in Hiroshima, Japan, where she helped South Korea win team bronze. She was passed over for the South Korean team for the World Championships that fall, but was named to the team for the Olympic Test Event the following April. South Korea placed eighth and did not qualify a full team to the Olympics.
Following the Test Event, she competed at the South Korean National Championships, winning uneven bars and balance beam gold, and all-around, vault, and floor exercise silver. She was initially named the alternate for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, until her compatriot Lee Go-Im suffered an injury in training. Lee was subbed in to take her place.[2]
Rio Olympics
Lee competed in the first subdivision of qualifications, starting on floor exercise. She placed fifty-third in the all-around, fifty-seventh on uneven bars, sixty-eighth on floor exercise, and seventieth on balance beam.