What started with a hundred dropped down to two. Physical 100 has declared its champion, but some viewers are doubtful about the finale. Come along with us as we dive into how the controversy came about and relive the show's best moments.
The cream of the crop in the fitness scene in Korea. (Photo from: @akiyamachoo)
Physical 100: winner and top 5 finalists
To give you a quick recap, Physical 100 is a Korean survival show on a quest to find out who has the perfect physique. 100 people at the top of their fitness game (think MMA fighters, national athletes, etc.) go through extreme challenges and only one can walk away with KRW300 million (or around SGD306,532.21).
Physical 100’s five finalists included car dealer Jo Jin-hyeong, cyclist Jung Hae-min, mountain rescuer and member of the Korean national ice climbing team Kim Min-cheol, Olympic luger (if it sounds unfamiliar, luge is a winter sport in which an athlete lies on their back on a sledge and races down a course) Park Jin-yong, and CrossFit athlete and snowboarder Woo Jin-yong. Woo Jin-yong and Jung Hae-min went head-to-head for the final challenge.
You never really knew that Woo Jin-yong would win it all until the finale, and that made the show worth watching. Throughout the show, Jin-yong didn’t have much screen time, but his sportsmanship and humility shone through whenever the camera panned to him. In the final challenge, he even cheered on his opponent despite the latter’s attempts to slow him down during the previous square-flipping game.
Physical 100 finale: why was it controversial?
After the finale was released, rumours spread like wildfire about what happened during the finale. Someone said that the winner, Woo Jin-yong, seemed to have the upper hand as his rope seemed easier to undo. Others said that he requested a re-match since the machine seemed to squeak too much and that the final challenge was played in three rounds, and Jung Hae-min had lost all his strength because it was actually the third round. But the production team claimed that the allegations were untrue and warned about taking legal action against those who spread the rumours.
With that out of the way, let’s now take it back to the show’s best moments.
3 best moments of Physical 100
1. When Jang Eun-sil led her team to victory
2. When Shim Eu-ddeum grabbed her shot at redemption
3. When teams had to work together to move a 1.5 ton ship
Bonus: when the contestants had a mini-game by themselves during their break
Instead of simply chilling while waiting for the production team to set everything up for the next challenge, it was fun to watch the contestants hang out by having their own kind of challenge. They stacked up mats and anyone who wanted to can try and jump over them. Skeleton racer slash Olympic Gold medallist Yun Sung-bin killed it and jumped over a four-foot tall stack.
Were your fave moments on the list above? Watch or re-watch Physical 100 right here.
(Cover photo from: @akiyamachoo)
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