"Honored to fly the Taegukgi high in the Japanese sky" Modern Pentathlon team reaffirms its class with 1st and 2nd gold medals for South Korea at AG [Nagoya on-site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Modern pentathlon national team athletes who secured the 1st and 2nd gold medals for South Korea at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya (Japan) Asian Games expressed their emotional reactions after reaffirming their class.

Seong Seung-min (Korea National University of Physical Education), who won gold in the women's individual event and silver in the women's team event, along with Jeon Woong-tae (Gangwon Provincial Sports Council), Seo Chang-wan (Jeollanam-do Provincial Government Office), and Lee Jong-hyun (Daejeon Metropolitan City Government), attended a press conference for gold medalists held at Korea House in Nagoya, Japan, on the 21st to share their thoughts on winning gold.

Seong Seung-min topped the standings with a total score of 1,492 points in the final held the previous day at Anjo Sports Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. This was South Korea's first gold medal at this tournament and the first-ever women's individual title for a Korean athlete. In the team event, where medals are determined by combining individual scores, she also secured silver alongside Kim Eun-ju and Shin Su-min.

In the men's team event, Jeon Woong-tae, Seo Chang-wan, and Lee Jong-hyun stood together at the very top of the podium. Jeon won silver in the individual event, while Lee took bronze.

Seong Seung-min, who became the first Asian female athlete to stand on the podium (bronze) at the 2024 Paris Olympics, smiled and said, "I feel great as if an unforgettable medal has been added."

Seong Seung-min said, "This was my second Asian Games. I set my sights on winning medals in both the team and individual events even before coming to Nagoya. I am happy that I could achieve better results than at the Hangzhou Games (bronze in the team event) with a true gold medal in the individual event and silver in the team event."

After winning gold the previous day, she became a topic of discussion with her comment "Don't look for me," but laughed and said, "It was just something I blurted out because it was so hard. The time we prepared up to now was extremely difficult. That's why I spoke that way due to the hardship of continuing sports. After returning to Korea, I will take a short break and prepare for the National Sports Festival in October."

Jeon Woong-tae, a star of modern pentathlon, said, "This was a great opportunity to show that South Korea's modern pentathlon is still in a strong position."

He added, "It was an honor to be able to fly the Taegukgi high in the Japanese sky. This has given me confidence and assurance that I can continue to show good performances at the next Olympics and Asian Games."

Lee Jong-hyun, who won gold in the team event and bronze in the individual event at his first Asian Games, said, "I am happy to have won two medals at my first comprehensive tournament."

Lee Jong-hyun smiled and said, "Before coming to the Asian Games, I promised myself I would definitely win a gold medal. Now that I have truly brought home a gold medal, I am very happy. Thank you for all the support and interest. I will work hard back in Korea so that more gold medals can be won in future events."

Seo Chang-wan, who also contributed to the team gold medal, said, "I'm glad we could finish without any injuries. (Seong) Seung-min and the other female athletes got off to a great start, and I think we were able to maintain that good momentum well. Everyone worked so hard. We were able to give our best until the end. I am grateful to all modern pentathlon athletes and coaches."

Kim Sung-jin, head coach of modern pentathlon, said, "I am proud and thankful that we could achieve good results at the first comprehensive tournament after the competition format changed. This was the first international competition held after equestrian events were replaced with obstacle courses."

Coach Kim Sung-jin added, "It was truly a difficult year in 2026, but I am grateful to the athletes for overcoming these hardships and reaching this stage. Inspired by the momentum of South Korea's 1st and 2nd gold medals at this Asian Games, I expect and support other athletes to achieve good results without injuries."

After completing the tournament, the modern pentathlon team departed for home on the afternoon of the 21st at 1:40 p.m. to prepare for next month's National Sports Festival and other events.

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*This content was translated by AI.