Hong Su-jong (born 9 March 1986 or 1989 in

Hamgyong Hamgyong Province () was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Hamgyŏng was located in the northeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Hamhŭng. Names The province was first established as Yonggil ( ko, 영길, , '' ...

, North Korea) is a

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

n artistic gymnast. She is the 2007 World silver medalist on the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...

. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the all-around and in the team event. She is the twin sister of

Hong Un-jong Hong Un-jong (; born 9 March 1989) is a North Korean artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic champion and 2014 World Champion on vault. She was the first North Korean female gymnast to win a medal at the Olympics. Career She was an indi ...

."Hong Un-jong admitting being twins with her sister at 1m40s"
Choson Sinbo

Career

Hong Su-Jong made the national gymnastics team in 2003. She competed in the

2003 Summer Universiade The 2003 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXII Summer Universiade, took place in Daegu, South Korea. Emblem * The alphabet letter "U" and five stars, which is FISU's emblem, make up the basis of the emblem for the Daegu Universiade. * It sym ...

for her international debut. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the all-around, but did not qualify for the final. At the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

she won a gold medal on the uneven bars, a silver medal on vault and with her team, and bronze in the all-around. She won a silver medal on vault at the 2007 World Championships. She injured herself before the 2008 Summer Olympics and was unable to compete. Hong was suspended for two years, from late 2007 to late 2009, following a positive test for

furosemide Furosemide is a loop diuretic medication used to treat fluid build-up due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It may also be used for the treatment of high blood pressure. It can be taken by injection into a vein or by m ...

at the Good Luck Beijing pre-Olympic test event.

2010 age controversy

In October 2010, It was announced Hong Su-jong was under investigation after several discrepancies surfaced over her reported year of birth and age-eligibility for senior competition. Subsequently, North Korea was banned from taking part in the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, as the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique announced it was not satisfied with the explanation provided by North Korea for having entered Hong Su-jong with three different birth dates (1985, 1986 or 1989), in different competitions. In particular, she had taken part in the 2004 Olympics claiming to have been born in 1985; her subsequently announced birth date of 1989 meant that she would have been too young to compete in 2004."Gymnastique: la Corée du Nord privée de Mondiaux"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, October 14, 2010 In November 2010, the F.I.G. announced that due to the age discrepancies, North Korean gymnasts were banned from all international competition until 5 October 2012. The North Korean Federation was also fined USD $20,800, and Hong specifically was banned from competing in even national competition within North Korea."North Korea banned 2 years for age falsification"
Associated Press, November 5, 2010 Hong's age has never been officially established, but a video has surfaced in which Hong Un-jong, whose birth year is known to be 1989, states that Hong Su-jong is her twin. If accurate, this would confirm that Hong Su-jong was underage during the 2004 Olympics.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Su-jong 1986 births Living people Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships North Korean female artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts of North Korea Gymnasts at the 2004 Summer Olympics North Korean twins Age controversies Asian Games medalists in gymnastics Gymnasts at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for North Korea Asian Games silver medalists for North Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for North Korea Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games 21st-century North Korean women