Hur Woong finishes seventh in men's pommel horse

Korea’s Hur Woong failed to medal in the men’s pommel horse on Saturday, slipping off the horse during his run to finish in seventh place.

Hur Woong of Korea competes in the men's pommel horse final at the Bercy Arena in Paris on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Korea’s Hur Woong failed to medal in the men’s pommel horse on Saturday, slipping off the horse during his run to finish in seventh place.

Hur, 24, entered the Bercy Arena in Paris as the underdog, the youngest competitor in the competition and only a reason addition to the Korean squad, replacing Kim Han-sol who was injured during training ahead of the Olympics.

Hur still started strong, pulling off a relatively complex routine before hitting the horse with his legs as he appeared to slightly misjudge his hand positioning around the halfway point. Hur recovered and got back on the horse, completing routine to loud applause from the crowd.

He finished with a score of 14.300, ahead of Loran de Munck of the Netherlands who also fell and attempted a less difficult routine, but well behind gold medalist Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland in first place with 15.533.

Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan won silver, with Stephen Nedoroscik — another viral hit at this year’s Games — took bronze.

Hur’s performance rounds off Korea’s gymnastics schedule for Saturday, with Lee Jun-ho returning to the Bercy Arena on Sunday to compete in the men’s vault final. Korea are the reigning gold medalists in that event, although Shin Jea-hwan, who topped the podium in Tokyo, is not competing in Paris.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]