Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae [Courtesy of Son Yeon-jae's Instagram]
Rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae was decorated Monday with South Korea's top national sports award after she claimed four medals at the Moscow Grand Prix including a silver in the individual all-around event.
The Korean Olympics Committee said this year's grand prize went to Son, who has been one of the country's most popular sports celebrities since former figure staking queen Kim Yuna, the gold medalist at Vancouver in 2010, retired in 2014 after winning silver in Sochi.
On Sunday in Moscow, Son won silver in hoop and bronze in both ball and ribbon. It was Son's first international competition with new programs as she gears up for this year's Olympics in Brazil.
As the first South Korean rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the sport's world championships. the 21-year-old adored by her fans as "Fairy" has been a big name on social network service, followed by more than 200,000 fans, along with sponsorship deals capitalizing on her cute image.
Son made her world championships debut in 2010, but failed to qualify for the final as one of the top 24s. After placing 11th at the 2011 world championships, she finished fifth in the all-around final at the London Olympics in 2012.
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reporter
Park Sae-jin
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