[Anchor]
Our national track 400m relay team has issued a brimming-with-confidence ambition ahead of the Asian Games coming up this September. Declaring that they will easily defeat world-class powerhouse and host nation Japan, they pledged to win the nation's first-ever gold medal in the relay.
Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the details.
[Reporter]
Having earned the Taegeuk mark together this year and clocking 10.13 seconds, tying for the second-fastest 100m times in history, Joel-jin and Bewesa are unprecedented rivals in South Korean sprinting history.
Competing fiercely for a new Korean record and breaking into the 9-second barrier—sometimes revealing subtle tensions—the relationship between the two has transformed now that they are connected by a single baton.
[Joel-jin / National 400m Relay Team: As (Bewesa) hyung and I came here (to the national team) with the same goal, I think of him as a great partner.]
[Bewesa / National 400m Relay Team: Being on the same team, there's nothing to be afraid of. (Are you reassured?) I sleep very well these days.]
With Joel-jin and Bewesa taking on the straightaways as the "twin engines," Seo Min-jun—who broke the Korean 400m relay record three times last year with explosive starts—Lee Jae-seong, who is strong on the curves, and oldest member Kim Si-on joining the ranks, the team has formed its "strongest ever" lineup and now understand each other just by looking into each other's eyes.
[Bewesa / National 400m Relay Team: Just by watching the first step, I now know when he's going to lift his arm here.]
Confidence for the Nagoya Asian Games in September is sky-high.
They are confident that they can win the first-ever gold medal by defeating not only last year's Hangzhou Games champion China, but also host nation and world-class powerhouse Japan.
[Kim Si-on / National 400m Relay Team: We don't even think of Japan as our rival. If our 1st and 3rd leg runners help out well, I think we can easily beat a country like Japan.]
[Seo Min-jun / National 400m Relay Team: We will work hard to make sure we win the gold medal in Japan.]
(Camera reporting: Yoo Dong-hyuk | Video editing: Hwang Ji-young | Design: Hwang Se-yeon)
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