Former GS Caltex coach Hye-jung Cho, the ‘little flying bird’ who won the first Olympic medal in Korean ball game history, has passed away. Age 71.

The deceased passed away at 5:40 a.m. on the 30th at his home after battling pancreatic cancer.

Former coach Cho Hye-jung was a legendary player who left a great mark on Korean volleyball.

At the 1976 Montreal Olympics, she performed well in offense and defense and placed Korean women's volleyball in third place. It is the first Olympic medal in Korean ball game history. As a volleyball player, with a short height of 165cm, she played as the main striker for the women's national volleyball team, earning the nickname "Flying little bird" from foreign media and impressing many people. 

In the deceased’s life, ‘volleyball’ and ‘first’ were inseparable modifiers.

She started playing volleyball in the 5th grade of elementary school and was selected to the national team at the age of 17 while attending Sungui Girls' High School. Afterwards, starting with a silver medal at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games, he continued to perform at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the 1974 Tehran Asian Games.

In 1979, she entered the overseas market as the first Korean women's volleyball player, and in 2010, she took over as coach of GS Caltex in the women's professional volleyball division, earning the title of being the first female coach in one of the four major Korean professional sports. The deceased, who led the development of sports at the pinnacle of elite sports throughout his life, also took the lead in spreading sports for everyday life as the CEO of Korea High Five, a public sports club. In 2017, she received the ‘Korea Women’s Sports Award’ Achievement Award selected by Women’s Newspaper.

Survivors include his spouse, Cho Chang-soo (former Samsung Lions acting manager), and his daughters, Jo Yoon-hee and Jo Yoon-ji. The funeral is held at the funeral hall of Samsung Seoul Hospital, the funeral takes place at 6:30 a.m. on November 1, and the burial takes place at Hambaeksan Memorial Park-Cheonan Memorial Park.

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