National Sports Festival Opens in Jeju Amid Asian Games Star Performances
The 107th National Sports Festival is being held in Jeju until October 22, bringing together top Asian Games medalists for a wave of multi-medal performances just 12 days after the international competition concluded. According to a report by the Hankyoreh, the quick turnaround between events drew heightened attention to the domestic competition as athletes built directly on their recent international momentum.
Fencing and Modern Pentathlon Champions Dominate Jeju Competition
Fencer Oh Sang-uk secured two gold medals in both the individual and team events, matching his multi-medal success from the international stage. Meanwhile, modern pentathlon athlete Seong Seung-min swept three gold medals in the individual, team, and relay events, building on her historic individual gold win at the recent Asian Games where she became the first South Korean woman to achieve the feat.
Hwang Sun-woo Chases Record While Gymnastics Star Yeo Seo-jeong Leads Medal Counts
Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo claimed victories in the freestyle 200m, 800m relay, and 400m relay, but missed his target of six gold medals after a disqualification for a breaststroke kick violation during the 200m individual medley final. Hwang, who earned Most Valuable Player honors in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025, aims to tie swimmer Park Tae-hwan for a record five MVP titles. Fellow swimmer Kim Young-bum secured four gold medals after winning the freestyle 50m, 100m, and both relays.
Gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong recorded the highest overall medal haul of the competition as of the 20th, capturing four gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. The Jeju events also featured new benchmarks as sprinter Namadi Joel-jin set a tournament record in the 200m final with a time of 20.47 seconds, and swimmer Han Da-kyung broke the national record in the women’s freestyle 400m with a time of 4:09.23.
2028 Los Angeles Olympic Preparations Shape Athlete Decisions
As next year is an important season to earn Olympic points, I plan to start preparing right away from next month,
Woo told reporters, noting that competing through the current physical strain risked worsening his condition.