Skateboarder Jun-i Kang secured South Korea’s first-ever Asian Games gold medal in the sport on October 27 at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, winning the men’s street final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with a total score of 180.85 points.
Jun-i Kang Wins Historic Skateboarding Gold
Skateboarding debuted as an official medal event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, and Kang’s victory marks South Korea’s first gold in the discipline. Kang posted a strong 88.45 points during the 45-second run session, but faced early trouble in the trick session by falling on both his first and second attempts, which dropped him to seventh place overall. On his final third attempt, Kang landed a high-difficulty trick to score 92.40 points and secure the comeback win. Upon confirmation of his gold medal, Kang embraced his coach and wept.
Dong-heon Nam Claims First Equestrian Dressage Gold in 12 Years
Veteran equestrian athlete Dong-heon Nam, 38, won the individual dressage final riding his horse Leonidas with a final score of 75.190 points. Dressage requires the rider and horse to execute precise movements along a set path, often referred to as a ballet on horseback. Nam’s victory breaks a 12-year drought for South Korea in individual dressage, following the country’s last gold at the 2014 Incheon Games. Earlier in the competition on October 25, Nam teamed up with Si-woo Kim, Myeong-seok Lee, and Hyun-woo Do to capture a silver medal in the team final.
Woo Sang-hyeok Secures Third Asian Games Medal
High jumper Sang-hyeok Woo, 30, earned a bronze medal in the men’s high jump final at the Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya by clearing 2.22 meters. Known as the smile jumper, Woo has now medaled at three consecutive Asian Games. He previously won silver at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games with a jump of 2.28 meters and another silver at the 2023 Hangzhou Games with a clearance of 2.33 meters.
Badminton Players Advance to Semifinals
South Korea’s badminton team advanced multiple players into the semifinal rounds. Women’s singles player Se-young An, men’s singles player Tae-bin Yu, and the women’s and men’s doubles pairings of Seung-jae Seo and Won-ho Kim alongside So-hee Lee and Ha-na Baek all successfully advanced to the final four.
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