South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok qualified for his second straight world championships final in Hungary on Sunday, positioning himself for South Korean athletics history.

Woo ranked fourth overall among 36 jumpers in the qualification phase of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on Sunday.

The jumpers had to clear at least 2.30 meters or be among the top 12 in order to qualify for the final. The qualification round ended when the field had 13 jumpers, including a tie, who cleared 2.28m.

Woo was one of four who jumped over 2.28m in one attempt.

The final is scheduled to begin at 7:58 p.m. Tuesday in Hungary, or 2:58 a.m. Wednesday in South Korea.

Woo is the reigning world silver medalist. With a medal this week, he would become the first South Korean athlete to reach the podium at back-to-back world championships, and also the first from the country with multiple world championships medals.

As the 2022 world indoor champion, Woo is also trying to become the sixth male high jumper to win both an indoor and an outdoor world title.

Woo came into Budapest with a season high of 2.33m. Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, three-time defending champion, had the best record for this year at 2.36m, followed by JuVaughn Harrison of the United States at 2.35m.

Both Barshim and Harrison cleared 2.28m in a single attempt in the qualification, along with Ryoichi Akamatsu of Japan.

Woo began his qualification round by jumping over 2.14m, 2.18m and then 2.22m in one attempt each. He needed two tries to clear 2.25m, but went over 2.28m in one attempt to clinch his place in the final.

At last year's world championships, Barshim beat Woo for the gold at 2.37m. The South Korean cleared 2.35m for silver.

Source: Yonhap News Agency