Further Personal Information |
Higher education |
Physical Education - Korea University: Seoul, KOR |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Playing Go-Stop, a traditional Korean card game, on the internet. (sports star story, 11 Jan 2006) |
Injuries |
She competed at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar with a hip injury. (koreaspot.com, 03 Oct 2007) |
Memorable sporting achievement |
Winning a gold medal at 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (Reuters, 04 Dec 2008) Breaking the World Record. (Athlete, 10 Aug 2012) |
Famous relatives |
Her father Jang Ho Cheol was a weightlifter and her younger sister, Jang Mi Ryung, also competes in weightlifting. (sports.hankooki.com, 26 Sep 2007) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
Her parents encouraged her to take up the sport believing that it would be good for her. |
General Interest |
Ambitions |
To win gold at the 2012 Olympic Games. koreanherald.com, 01 Feb 2012) |
Awards and honours |
In 2011 she became the first weightlifter to have won a title at nine consecutive Korean championships. (koreanherald.com, 01 Feb 2012)
Her gold medal in the +75kg category at the 2007 World Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand meant she was the first weightlifter from Korea to win three consecutive weightlifting world titles. (doha-2006.com, 09 Oct 2006, Infostrada Sports, 31 Jul 2008) |
Sport Specific Information |
Name of coach |
Kim Gi-Heung [national] |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She took up weightlifting at age 17. |
International Debut |
Year |
2002 |
Competing for |
Korea |
Location |
Korea |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete |
Languages |
Korean |
General Interest |
Nicknames |
Princess Fiona from the movie Shrek. (naver.com, 10 Aug 2012) |
Sport Specific Information |
Coach from which country? |
Korea |
General Interest |
Other information |
TEENAGE WEIGHT ISSUES She said she struggled with her weight as a teenager and that becoming an athlete is what made her happy with the weight she was carrying. "I used to think that my size was a flaw before I started weightlifting. But after I started weightlifting, that has become my strongest point." (Reuters, 04 Dec 2008)
FOUNDATION She launched the Jang Mi-Ran Foundation. One of the things she has wanted to do since becoming a weightlifter, was to help and promote less popular Olympic sports. She has partnered with Visa Korea who will help her foundation in setting up education programmes, provide funding, expertise, marketing support and providing medical support to future Olympians and under-privileged families. (koreanherald.com, 01 Feb 2012) |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Ilsan, KOR |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
Goyang City Hall: Ilsan, KOR |
General Interest |
Most influential person in career |
Her family. (Athlete, 10 Aug 2012) |