'Visually impaired sprinter' Jang Min-ho sets Asian record in 100m at Asian Para Games, wins gold medal

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Visually impaired track and field national team member Jang Min-ho (29, Anyang City Hall) set an Asian record and won a gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games.

Jang crossed the finish line in 10.48 seconds to claim victory in the men's 100m (sport class T13) final, held on the 20th at Mizho Park Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Having set an Asian record of 10.61 seconds in the earlier heats to advance to the final in first place overall, Jang shaved another 0.13 seconds off his time in the final. He took the top spot, ahead of second-place Fukunaga Ryota (10.72 seconds) and third-place Kawakami Shuta (10.77 seconds), both from Japan.

Jang became the first athlete in Korean sports history to compete in both the non-disabled Asian Games and the disabled Asian Para Games, winning a gold medal at his first international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities. In September, he helped set a Korean record (3 minutes 18.66 seconds) in the mixed 4x400m relay heats at the non-disabled Asian Games.

Jang, who stopped competing as a long-distance runner during his high school years and returned to short-distance events in 2023, won three titles (100m, 200m, and 400m relay) at the 2024 National Sports Festival. He was later diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition causing visual impairment, but has continued to compete in both non-disabled and disabled track and field events.

Meanwhile, in the men's 800m (sport class T51/52/53) final held on the same day, Yoo Byung-hoon (54, Gyeongbuk Provincial Association for Persons with Disabilities Sports) finished fifth with a time of 1 minute 40.84 seconds.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original