Son Yeon-jae

KTM KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...

(born 28 May 1994) is a South Korean retired individual

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and co ...

. She is a former member of the South Korean national gymnastics team, based in Taereung,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. She is the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

All-around Champion, the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

All-around bronze medalist, three-time (2016, 2015, 2013)

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

All-around Champion. She is the first and only

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n individual rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

, FIG World Cup series,

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

and the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

. She is managed by the IB Sports agency. She trained in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. She is also a recipient of the

Talent Medal of Korea The Talent Award of Korea ( ko, 대한민국인재상) is an award bestowed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education of Korea from 2014. Until 2013, this was the Talent Medal of Korea, bestowed by the President of the Republic of K ...

in 2011.

Athletic career

Son was born in

, and began gymnastics at an early age to help her lose weight. In 2008, she won the all-around gold medal at the Angel Cup in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. In 2009, she performed for the opening ceremony of Olympic and World champion

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

Kim Yuna Yuna Kim (; born September 5, 1990), also credited in eastern name order as Kim Yuna or Kim Yeon-a, is a retired South Korean competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist in ladies' singles, ...

's Festa on Ice. In 13–15 November, she became the junior all-around champion at the Slovenian Challenge Tournament, it was the first time a South Korean rhythmic gymnast won a gold medal at any International Tournaments level of FIG. Son became a star in Korea, similarly as Olympic champion Kim Yuna, after grabbing a medal in individual all-around at the

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, becoming the first South Korean rhythmic gymnast to do so. Soon after that, she went to

for long-term training. Son Yeon-Jae at LG WHISEN Rhythmic All Stars 2011 (114)

Son Yeon-jae made her senior international debut at the 2010 Kalamata World Cup where she finished 12th in all-around. Then she competed at Corbeil-Essonnes International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament in May 2010 and placed 11th in all-around. At the 2010 World Championships, she placed 32nd in the individual all-around and did not advance into the finals. At the 2011 Grand Prix, she placed 19th in the individual overall with the total score of 100.700 points. Son Yeon-jae on Oct 10, 2011 (1)

Son Yeon-Jae at LG WHISEN Rhythmic All Stars 2011 (65)

At the Grand Prix series held in February 2012, she tied for the 18th place with Wong Poh San with the total score of 100.850 in the individual overall and third in the Hoop final. In April 2012, Son became the first Korean rhythmic gymnast to medal at the World Cup Series, Category B by winning a bronze medal in the Hoop final in

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...

, Russia, and placed fourth in the individual overall. In May 2012, she finished last in the Hoop final at the World Cup Series, Category B in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and placed fifth overall. Son finished second to last in the individual all-around at the World Cup Series, Category A in Sofia, Bulgaria.

2012 Olympics

Son placed 6th at the Qualifications. At the All-around finals, She was ranked 3rd in the rankings up to the 2nd rotation until a drop from her Clubs scored her a 26.750 points. Son placed 5th overall at the Finals with a score of 111.475 points. Son became the first Korean Rhythmic Gymnast to qualify and reach the All-around Finals at the Olympics.

2013–2016

In 2013, Son started her season competing at the 2013 Moscow Grand Prix where she won bronze in clubs, she competed at the 2013 Lisboa World Cup where she finished 9th in all-around and won bronze in ribbon. On 30 April 2013, Son got a silver medal in the ribbon finals at the 2013 Pesaro World Cup, it was the first time a Korean athlete won a silver medal at any discipline of a rhythmic gymnastic World Cup. Son finished 4th in all-around at the 2013 Sofia World Cup and shared the bronze medal in hoop with Ukrainian

Ganna Rizatdinova Hanna Serhiivna RizatdinovaAlternatively spelled as ''Ganna Rizatdinova'' or ''Anna Rizatdinova''. ( ua, Ганна Сергіївна Різатдінова; born 16 July 1993) is a Ukrainian individual rhythmic gymnast. In the all-around event ...

. Son then competed at the 2013 Minsk World Cup where she finished 4th in all-around, at the event finals, she took the silver medals in hoop and in clubs who was tied with Russian rising star

Yana Kudryavtseva Yana Alexeyevna Kudryavtseva (russian: Я́на Алексе́евна Кудря́вцева; born 30 September 1997) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2016 Olympic All-around silver medalist, three-time World Champi ...

, she finished 4th in ribbon and 7th in ball. Son competed at the 2013 Asian Championships in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

, Uzbekistan where she became the first Korean rhythmic gymnast to win gold in the all-around, she also helped Team Korea win the silver medal. At the finals, Son won gold in hoop and clubs, she won silver in ribbon behind China's Deng Senyue and finished 4th in ball. She competed at the

2013 Summer Universiade The 2013 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXVII Summer Universiade (russian: XXVII Летняя Универсиада), was held in the city of Kazan, Russia, the most northerly city ever to host a Summer Universiade. Over 10,400 un ...

where she finished 6th in all-around, she qualified to 3 event finals where she won silver in ball, placed 5th in clubs and 7th in ribbon. At the 2013 World Cup series in St.Petersburg, Russia, Son finished 4th in all-around and in the event finals won silver in hoop, bronze in ribbon, placed 4th in clubs and ball. At the 2013 World Championships in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, Son qualified to 3 event finals where she finished 7th in hoop, ball and 6th in clubs behind Deng Senyue. She finished 5th in the All-around at the 2013 World Championships again behind Chinese rival Deng Senyue who finished 4th. In 2014, Son began her season competing at the 2014 Moscow Grand Prix finishing 6th in the all-around, at the event finals she won bronze medals in ribbon, clubs and hoop. Son then competed at the 2014 Stuttgart World Cup finishing 7th in All-around, she qualified to 3 event finals: she took silver in ribbon, placed 8th in ball and 5th in hoop. Son won her first gold medal in the World Cup at the 2014 Lisbon World Cup becoming the first Asian and Korean rhythmic gymnast to win and medal in the All-around. She scored a total of 71.200 points ahead of

Melitina Staniouta Melitina Dmitryevna Staniouta ( be, Меліціна Дзмітрыеўна Станюта, russian: Мелитина Дмитриевна Станюта; born 15 November 1993) is a Belarusian retired individual rhythmic gymnast.Dina Averina Dina Alekseyevna Averina ( rus, Дина Алексеевна Аверина, , ˈdʲinə ɐˈvʲerʲɪnə; born 13 August 1998) is a Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic All-around silver medalist, the only four-time ( ...

(bronze). In the event finals, Son became the first Asian and Korean rhythmic gymnast to win 3 gold medals (in ball, clubs, ribbon) and won bronze in hoop behind Staniouta and

Maria Titova Maria Pavlovna Titova (russian: Мария Павловна Титова; born 19 August 1997) is a Russian retired individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2013 Grand Prix Final all-around silver medalist Career Junior Titova began to do gym ...

. She followed with her next event at the 2014 Pesaro World Cup, where Son finished 5th in all-around and won silver in clubs and bronze in ball final. In 30 May – 1 June, Son competed at the 2014 Minsk World Cup and finished 10th in all-around, she qualified to 3 event finals and won a silver in hoop, bronze in ribbon. In 8–10 August, Son competed at the 2014 Sofia World Cup and won the all-around bronze medal with a total of 70.250 points. She qualified to 4 event finals: taking 2 bronze medals (in hoop, ball), 4th in clubs and 5th in ribbon. In 5–7 September, competing at the 2014 World Cup series in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, Russia, Son finished 5th in the all-around behind

Katsiaryna Halkina Katsiaryna Aliaksandraŭna Halkina ( be, Кацярына Аляксандраўна Галкіна; russian: Екатерина Александровна Галкина; born 25 February 1997) is a retired Belarusian individual rhythmic gymnas ...

with a total of 69.750 points. She qualified to 3 event finals taking bronze in hoop, placed 5th in ball and 6th in clubs. In 22–27 September, Son represented

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

at the 2014 World Championships, she qualified to 4 event finals, where she won bronze medal in hoop (where she became the first Korean rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships, placed 4th in clubs, 5th in ribbon and ball. In the All-around finals, Son finished 4th with a total score of 70.933 points and came on top among the Asian participants, beating her Chinese rival Deng Senyue, who finished 5th by a margin of 1.167 points. Son then flew to her home country in

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

for the

where she won the gold medal becoming the first Korean to win rhythmic gymnastics in the Asian Games. Son was named the best athlete of the year 42 percent of the votes ahead of

with 33.3 percent votes and was awarded the MBN Women Sports Award 2014 in Seoul. Incheon AsianGames Gymnastics Rhythmic 28

Incheon AsianGames Gymnastics Rhythmic 02

In 2015, Son withdrew from her first scheduled event at the 2015 Moscow Grand Prix citing illness. In 27–29 March, Son returned to competition at the 2015 Lisboa World Cup finishing 4th in the all-around, in event finals: she won silver in hoop, placed 5th (clubs, ball) and 6th (ribbon). She then competed at the 2015 Bucharest World Cup finishing 4th in all-around, she withdrew from the apparatus finals after suffering an ankle injury. In 22–24 May, Son returned to competition at the 2015 Tashkent World Cup where she won the all-around bronze behind Russians

Margarita Mamun Margarita Mamun (russian: Маргарита Мамун; born 1 November 1995) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast of Bangladeshi-Russian descent. She is the 2016 Olympic All-around champion, two-time (2015, 2014) World All-arou ...

(gold) and

Aleksandra Soldatova Aleksandra Sergeyevna Soldatova (russian: link=no, Александра Сергеевна Солдатова; born 1 June 1998) is a retired Russian individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2018 World All-around bronze medalist, 2018 World rib ...

(silver). She qualified to all 4 apparatus finals, taking bronze in hoop, placed 7th in ball, 8th in clubs and 6th in ribbon. In 10–13 June, Son won the all-around gold at the 2015 Asian Championships held in

Jecheon Jecheon () is a city in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. The city is a major railway junction or a transportation mecca, served by the Jungang, Chungbuk and Taebaek Lines. Jecheon has scenic surroundings and several tourist spots like the ...

, she qualified to all event finals taking gold in hoop, ball, a bronze in ribbon and finished 5th in clubs. Her next competition was at the

2015 Summer Universiade ) , Nations participating = 143 , Athletes participating = 12,885 , Events = 272 in 21 sports , Opening ceremony = , Closing ceremony = , Officially opened by = Park Geun-hye , Athlete's Oath = Kim Seong-yeon and Kim Kuk-young , Judge's Oath = K ...

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

, Korea were Son won the all-around gold ahead of

(silver) and

Melitina Staniouta Melitina Dmitryevna Staniouta ( be, Меліціна Дзмітрыеўна Станюта, russian: Мелитина Дмитриевна Станюта; born 15 November 1993) is a Belarusian retired individual rhythmic gymnast.2015 World Cup series, Son finished 5th in the all-around behind Staniouta. Son qualified to 4 apparatus finals, taking bronze in hoop and finishing 4th in ball, 5th in ribbon, 6th in clubs. On 9–13 September, Son competed at the 2015 World Championships in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

, she qualified to all 4 apparatus finals finishing 5th in Hoop, 4th in Ball, 8th in Clubs and 5th in Ribbon. In the All-around final, Son made mistakes in the ribbon performance, she had trouble controlling the ribbon, had tangles, a drop and lost a dance step, which resulted in her poor 16.116 points and in her last performance in ball, she made another mistake by dropping the ball while rolling it on her back scoring 17.483. Son finished 11th overall with a total of 69.998 points, behind Bulgarian Neviana Vladinova. Jaesonyeon

In 2016, Son started her season participating at the 2016 Moscow Grand Prix finishing 2nd in the all-around behind

. During the event finals; she won silver in hoop, bronze with ball and ribbon and she placed 4th with clubs. In 26-28 Feb, Son competed at the 2016 Espoo World Cup and won the all-around silver ahead of

; in apparatus finals she won gold in ball, silver in ribbon, bronze in hoop, and 7th in clubs. On 17–20 March, Son then competed at the 2016 Lisboa World Cup where she finished 4th in the all-around behind

Neta Rivkin Neta Rivkin ( he, נטע ריבקין; born June 19, 1991) is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast. She is one of Israel's most successful rhythmic gymnasts. A three-time Olympian, in 2011 she won the silver medal in clubs at the 20 ...

, in apparatus finals: she won bronze in hoop, ball, placed 4th in clubs and 7th in ribbon. On 1–3 April, Son finished 4th in the all-around with a total of 73.900 points at the 2016 Pesaro World Cup behind Ukrainian

. In event finals: she won silver in clubs, bronze in ribbon, placed 4th in ball and 6th in hoop. On 8–10 May, Son won the all-around gold at the 2016 Asian Championships with a total of 73.750 points, she also completed a golden sweep in the apparatus finals (hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon) becoming only the second Asian rhythmic gymnast to make a golden sweep at the

since

Aliya Yussupova Aliya Yussupova ( kk, Әлия Мақсұтқызы Жүсіпова, ''Äliia Maqsūtqyzy Jüsıpova''; born May 15, 1984) is a retired individual Rhythmic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnast who competed for Kazakhstan, coached by Irina Viner. Perso ...

won all the gold back in 2009. On 27–29 May, Son finished won bronze in the all-around at the 2016 Sofia World Cup with a total of 74.200 points, she qualified to all apparatus finals winning gold in clubs, silver in hoop, ribbon and bronze in ball. On 3–5 June, Son then finished 4th in the all-around behind

, Son scored a new PB of 74.650 points at the 2016 Guadalajara World Cup, she finished 4th in (hoop, ribbon, clubs) and won bronze in ball finals. On 8–10 July, Son then finished 4th in the all-around at the 2016 Kazan World Cup with a total of 74.900 points - updating her Personal Best, she qualified to all apparatus finals taking silver in hoop, bronze in ribbon, 4th in ball and clubs.

2016 Olympics

On 19–20 August, Son competed at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil. She qualified in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final, finishing 4th overall with a total of 72.898 points.

Retirement

After the 2016 Summer Olympics; Son decided to continue her studies, she is enrolled at the

Yonsei University Yonsei University (; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. As a member of the "SKY" universities, Yonsei University is deemed one of the three most prestigious institutions in the country. It is particularly respected in the ...

. Nevertheless, before the end of the year; Son was voted as the top South Korean athlete of 2016, a national survey conducted by

Gallup Korea Gallup Korea () or Gallup Korea Research Institute () is a South Korean research company. Founded by Park Moo-ik in 1974, the company became a member of Gallup International Association in 1997. It is best known for conducting public surveys on ...

, Son had received 29.8 percent of the votes. Son Yeon-jae announced her retirement on Saturday, 18 February 2017 at the age of 22.

Personal life

Son is an

only child An only child is a person with no siblings, Birth, by birth or adoption. Children who have half-siblings, step-siblings, or have never met their siblings, either living at the same house or at a different house—especially those who were born con ...

. She is also the second cousin of Korean figure skater Yun Yea-ji.

Relationship and Marriage

As of 14 June 2017, Son was revealed to be in a relationship with the leader and lead guitarist of rock band

F.T. Island F.T. Island ( ko, 에프티 아일랜드, or FT아일랜드, short for Five Treasure Island), is a South Korean rock band formed by FNC Entertainment in 2007. The band currently consists of main vocalist Lee Hong-gi, bassist Lee Jae-jin, and ...

Choi Jong-hoon Choi Jong-hoon (, ; born March 7, 1990) is a South Korean former musician and actor. He served as the leader, guitarist, and keyboardist of rock band F.T. Island from its debut in 2007 until his retirement from the entertainment industry in 2019. ...

. At a fan meeting in Japan on 1 August 2017, Choi revealed that they have broken up and his agency,

FNC Entertainment FNC Entertainment (; stands for "fish and cake") is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2006 by South Korean singer and record producer Han Seong-ho. The label operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, ev ...

, later confirmed this information. On April 7, 2022, it was confirmed that Son was in a relationship with a businessman, who is 9 years older than her. Later in May 2022, Son announced that she would marry in August 2022. Their private wedding ceremony was held on August 21, 2022 at Hotel Shilla in Seoul. Son donates 50 million won for her wedding gift to Severance Children's Hospital.

Son has some advertisements such as LG,

Pantene Pantene () is a brand of hair care products owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line was first introduced in Europe in 1945 by Hoffmann-La Roche, which branded the name based on panthenol as a shampoo ingredient. It was purchased by Procter ...

, Mr.Pizza and

Fila Fila Holdings Corp. is a sportswear brand of shoes and apparel. The company was founded by Ettore and Giansevero Fila in 1911 in Coggiola, near Biella, Piedmont, Italy. In 2003, it was sold to United States-based Sports Brand International. Sub ...

.揭秘"女神"孙妍在韩国造星有何独特之处？
Retrieved 2016-09-09

Achievements

* First and only South Korean rhythmic gymnast to place in the Top 10 finals at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

(5th in

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and 4th in

). * First and only South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships (at the 2014 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships). * First Asian and South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win gold in the All-around at the FIG World Cup series. * First and only South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the FIG World Cup series. * First and only South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the

individual An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...

. * First and only South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win gold at the

. * First and only South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the

(at the

Variety shows

Son appeared on two episodes 109 and 110 of SBS's variety show " Running Man" hosted by the "Nation's MC"

Yoo Jae-suk Yoo Jae-suk (; or ; born on 14 August 1972) is a South Korean comedian, host and television personality. He has hosted several variety television shows in South Korea, including ''Infinite Challenge'', '' Running Man'', '' Happy Together, and ...

together with swimmer

Park Tae-hwan Park Tae-hwan (, ; born September 27, 1989) is a South Korean competitive Swimming (sport), swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and world champion. He has four Olympic medals, five world titles, and 20 Asian Games medals. He won a gold me ...

. She has also since appeared in episode 130 of

KBS 2TV The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

's variety show "Win Win", sharing about her hardships and struggles while training for competitions. Son also participated in episode 296 and episode 350 of MBC's variety show "

Infinity Challenge ''Infinite Challenge'' (; abbreviated as ''Mudo'') is a South Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC, that ran from 2005 to 2018. As of January 2013, it had the largest market share for its timeslot; with ...

", also hosted by MC

. While on Happy Together, Son revealed her good impressions towards popular Chinese swimmer

Ning Zetao Ning Zetao ( or ''Níng Zétāo''; or ; born 6 March 1993) is a Chinese former competitive swimming (sport), swimmer. Specializing in the freestyle swimming, freestyle, he won a gold medal in the Swimming at the 2015 World Aquatics Championsh ...

. In 2016, she appeared as a guest in episode 322 of " Running Man". In 2017, she appeared in Swan Club as the 6th member of the club.