'Korean Legend' Walking the 'Path of Legends' Side by Side with Her Father, Now Yeo Seo-jung [Nagoya Field Report]

*This content was translated by AI.

"I feel so happy walking the same path as my father."

Yeo Seo-jung (24, Jecheon City Hall), a member of South Korea's national artistic gymnastics team, smiled brightly. This was after she won the gold medal in the women's vault event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 24th at the Nagoya General Gymnasium in Japan. With this gold medal, she tied her father, former Executive Director of the Korean Gymnastics Association Yeo Hong-chul (55), who has won two Asian Games gold medals. "I can now stand shoulder to shoulder with my dad," he said with a smile.

It was an overwhelming victory. Yeo Seo-jung scored 14.466 in the first round and 14.100 in the second round. Her final score, calculated as the average of the two rounds (14.283) plus a bonus of 0.2 points, was 14.483. Among the eight finalists, only Yeo Seo-jung and North Korea's An Chang-ok (first round) achieved scores in the 14th-point range across both rounds, and Yeo Seo-jung was the only one with a final score in the 14th-point range. She finished more than 0.8 points ahead of second-place An Chang-ok. Considering that the gap between the bronze medalist and fourth place was just 0.001 points, Yeo Seo-jung's performance was even more dominant.

Thanks to this, Yeo Seo-jung stood atop the Asian Games podium for the first time in eight years since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang (Indonesia) Games. At age 16, she had previously set a record as the only mother-daughter pair to win gold medals at the Asian Games. Now, eight years later, she matched her father's record of two Asian Games gold medals. Notably, Yeo Seo-jung is the first female gymnast to win two gold medals at the Asian Games. While she was once known primarily as "Yeo Hong-chul's daughter," she has now begun forging her own path as a new legend.

This result was all the more precious given the many twists and turns that led her to the top of the Asian Games podium. Since the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yeo Seo-jung has undergone surgery twice. First, she had shoulder surgery, followed by Achilles tendon surgery. Given the nature of her sport, these two areas are critical, making such injuries potentially career-ending. She herself recalls undergoing surgery twice as the most difficult period of her athletic career.

However, Yeo Seo-jung did not give up. She devoted herself to rehabilitation and eventually returned to competition. She dispelled concerns about her recovery by winning gold at the Asian Championships in June, proving she was back in top form. At this year's Asian Games, she stood tall atop the podium with an overwhelming performance, making history for South Korean artistic gymnastics.

"Winning a gold medal after eight years made me so happy and moved," Yeo Seo-jung said. "I overcame injuries and returned to competition. Many people supported me, which makes this achievement even more meaningful." She added, "It was very tough due to my injuries, but I feel like all that hardship has been rewarded." She continued, "Before the competition, my father sent me a message saying, 'You did well yesterday, and you'll do well today too. I love you.' He must have watched nervously, so I want to thank him for his trust and support. When I return to Korea, I should ask him to buy me some beef," she said with a laugh.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.