Kim Jun-woo shares silver medal in men's 800m freestyle swimming

The Korea Times - Sep 24, 2026

TOKYO — Kim Jun-woo earned a joint silver medal in the men's 800-meter freestyle swimming at the Asian Games on Thursday for his first career individual medal. Kim and Kaito Tabuchi of Japan finished with the identical time of 7:43.86 at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. In swimming, ties are recorded and awarded to the one-hundredth of a second. Zhang Zhanshuo of China won the gold with an Asian Games record time of 7:42.49. Kim had earlier helped South Korea win bronze in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. The 19-year-old said he was happy to see his hard work pay off in his Asian Games debut. Kim is also the second straight South Korean medalist in this race, after Kim Woo-min's gold in 2023. Kim Woo-min won his gold in 7:46.03, and Kim Jun-woo was 2.17 seconds faster on Thursday. "Since this was my first major international competition, I came in with a focus on my time, rather than my placement," Kim Jun-woo said. "It would have been nice to finish higher but I am pleased with my time here." Kim Woo-min did not have a chance to defend his gold medal here due to shoulder injury. After finishing la

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Sep 24, 2026

Kim Jun-woo shares silver medal in men's 800m freestyle swimming

Sep 24, 2026

Cho Sung-jae races to bronze in men's breaststroke swimming

TOKYO — Cho Sung-jae earned bronze in the men's 200-meter breaststroke swimming at the Asian Games on Thursday, becoming only the second South Korean to reach the podium in this event. Cho clocked 2:08.76 for third place, as Shin Ohashi of Japan set a world record with a time of 2:04.83 and Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan won silver in 2:08.67 at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Cho touched the 50m pad in sixth place and moved to fifth place at the halfway mark. He was in fourth with 50m to go, trailing Ippei Watanabe of Japan by 0.67 second. But Cho found another gear and covered the last 50m in 33.30 seconds, the third-fastest split in the 10-man final. Cho held off Adam Mak Sai-ting of Hong Kong by 0.01 second. Cho joins Choi Kyu-woong, a joint silver medalist in 2010, as the only South Koreans to win an Asiad medal in the men's 200m breaststroke. Cho, 25, earned his first individual medal in his third Asian Games appearance. "It has been almost six years since I last got into the 2:08 range," Cho said. "I was so desperate for a medal here and I think it showed." He said he was pleased with how he

Sep 24, 2026

Park Si-eun claims silver in women's breaststroke swimming

TOKYO — Park Si-eun grabbed a surprising silver medal in the women's 200-meter breaststroke swimming at the Asian Games on Thursday. Park finished with a new national record time of 2:22.69 at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, just 0.12 second back of the champion from Japan, Kotomi Kato. Swimming in Lane 5, Park led Kato by 0.72 second at the 150m mark, but Park came home in 37.41 seconds, compared to 36.57 seconds by the Japanese. Zhu Leiju of China got the bronze in 2:25.51. Park, 19, said she was inspired to take up swimming after watching highlights of former swimmer Jeong Da-rae, who won the 2010 Asiad gold in the women's 200m breaststroke. Jeong remains the only South Korean with an Asian Games title in this event. "I have trained so hard, not taking any day off even when my friends were enjoying their time away from the pool," Park said, choking back on tears. "I really wanted to do well here and all that time spent in the pool was worth it." Park said she is now motivated to reach even greater heights. "I came here trying to win a gold medal and I fell just short," Park said. "This has give

Sep 24, 2026

[Asian Games] Artistic gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong wins gold in women's vault at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan — South Korean artistic gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong won gold in the women's vault at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday, giving the country its first title in the sport. Yeo scored an average of 14.483 points after two attempts, beating defending Asiad champion North Korea's An Chang-ok, who scored 13.666 points, in the women's vault final of artistic gymnastics at Nagoya General Gymnasium in Nagoya, central Japan. The bronze medal went to Du Siyu of China, who scored 13.450 Thursday's gold was Yeo's second career Asian Games title in the women's vault, following her victory at the 2018 Asian Games. She skipped the 2022 edition to focus on the world championships. Yeo now stands alongside her father, Yeo Hong-chul, who won gold medals in the men's vault at the 1994 and 1998 Asian Games. The father-daughter duo have also won Olympic silver and bronze medals, respectively. Yeo was unrivaled in the final, as she was the only gymnast among the eight finalists to score above 14 points on both attempts, thanks to her outstanding takeoffs, twists and landings. In her first attempt,

Sep 24, 2026

S. Korea wins gold in men's kayak four-person 500m racing at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan — South Korea won the gold medal in the men's kayak four 500-meter race at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday, bringing home the country's first gold in canoe sprint at the competition. The team of Cho Gwang-hee, Kim Hyo-bin, Jang Sang-won and Choi Min-kyu finished the race in 1:22.587 in the final of the men's kayak four 500m event at Miyoshi Lake Canoe Course in Miyoshi, just east of the main host city of Nagoya. It was South Korea's first gold medal in canoe sprint and ninth overall at the competition. South Korea edged out China by 0.255 seconds, with Japan finishing 3.322 seconds behind the champions. The South Korean quartet crossed the 250-meter mark in 40.44 seconds to take the lead. They battled neck and neck with China through the rest of the race but held onto the lead through the finish. In Heat 2, held the previous day, South Korea finished first in 1:25.383 to advance to the final. Canoe sport comprises two disciplines — canoe sprint and canoe slalom — with kayak events contested in both.