South Korean sprinter Kim Kuk-young said Wednesday he is confident he can run faster than a car if he gets off to a good start in their upcoming 70-meter race.
Kim, who holds the national record in the men's 100m at 10.16 seconds, will run against the Avante, a subcompact from South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., at the Korea International Circuit (KIC) in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, on Thursday. The human-versus-machine event is part of the 2016 Motor and Leisure Sports Festival organized by the Jeonnam Development Corp.
"It feels a little strange because I heard that this is the first time in South Korea that a man will race against a car," Kim said in a press conference in Seoul. "I agreed to compete in this race because I hope many people will start paying attention to track and field due to this event."
In the 70m race, Kim will take on the car driven by Kwon Bom-yi, a three-time Female Driver of the Year by the Korea Automobile Racing Association (KARA). She can keep the car, which will be a 2013 model with 140 horsepower, running with the auto transmission in park, but can't touch the steering wheel and the gear lever until the starter pistol is fired.
The 25-year-old sprinter added that he can win the race if he gets off to a good start, although weather conditions could be a factor. Kim's average time in the 70m is around 7.40, while the car's average time was 0.02 second faster during practice, according to the organizers.
"I heard that at the KIC, the organizers will install the same track that I ran on at the Gwangju Universiade," he said of last year's competition where he set the 100m national record. "If I can get some help with wind, I think I can run faster."
At the 2015 Universiade, Kim beat his own, five-year-old mark by 0.07. In the process, he also met the Olympic qualification standard time for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games in August. He has been training in Japan to gear up for his first Olympic race.
"People will say it's just an event, but I will concentrate like it is a real competition," he said. "If I'm not distracted by the engine noise of the car in the last 10 meters, I think I will get a good result."
Kwon said she is excited to race against the fastest man in South Korea. The 29-year-old driver said that she's a bit concerned since the car is not her usual racing vehicle and isn't tuned up, but she will try her best.
"Since this car is an automatic, many people will think the driver won't make a difference, but you need delicate control when the car accelerates," she said. "If I just don't put the transmission in neutral, I think I will be fine."
Kwon added that after watching the Go match between Lee Se-dol and Google's artificial intelligence program AlphaGo in March, she actually wants to see the human outperform the machine this time -- though this doesn't mean she will simply bow out in her race against Kim.
"Honestly, I want the human to win the race, but I will try my best," she said. "I also hope the event will raise the popularity of motor sports in South Korea." (Yonhap)