▲ Cyclist Shin Ji-eun during an interview
Winning a precious bronze medal to secure the South Korean delegation's first medal of the tournament, national cycling team member Shin Ji-eun (24, Geumsan County Office) showed neither false modesty nor bluff when asked if she was confident about winning a medal.
Pouring out her true feelings, she simply said, "Since I haven't spent a single day in vain since starting my preparation for the tournament, I approached it with confidence."
Shin crossed the finish line with a time of 36:56.14 to win the bronze medal in the women's individual time trial cycling event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Shinshiro Circuit Course in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on September 20.
She finished third behind Rinata Sultanova of Kazakhstan (36:23.72) in first place and Hao Zhang of China (36:28.40) in second, with a gap of 32.42 seconds between Sultanova and Shin.
This is the very first medal for the entire South Korean delegation participating in this tournament, as well as the first Asian Games medal for Shin herself.
Although track cycling is her main specialty and she competed in the team pursuit at the previous Hangzhou Games where she missed out on a medal after being edged out by Hong Kong, Shin completely washed away that disappointment by proudly stepping onto the podium in an individual event where she competed purely on her own merits.
In an interview conducted through the Korea Cycling Federation, when asked how she felt about winning her first medal, Shin smiled brightly and said, "I am over the moon." Regaining her composure shortly after, she added, "It is my first time competing in an individual event, and I am grateful for today to have yielded such a good result and honor."
During today's race, Shin showcased her stable pace-management skills.
She started in fourth place by passing the first checkpoint at 12:58.31, climbed to third by clocking 24:49.70 at the second checkpoint, and maintained her pace all the way to the final finish line to secure a final third-place finish.
Reflecting on today's grueling race, Shin confessed, "To be honest, I didn't think about being in the medal zone; it was just so tough that all I could think about was wanting to cross the finish line as quickly as possible."
She continued, expressing her affectionate feelings, "The person who comes to mind the most now that the race is over is my father, who must be thinking only of me back in Korea. I want to contact him right away."
Highlighted as the "next-generation ace" to follow in the footsteps of retired Korean cycling icon Na Ah-reum, Shin is an all-rounder who moves seamlessly between road and track.
She possesses both the fierce endurance of road events—where riders cover long distances and withstand unpredictable outdoor environments—and the explosive speed and agility required inside the indoor velodrome.
In fact, after finishing third in the women's individual road race and fourth in the time trial at the Asian Road Cycling Championships early this year, she fully warmed up for this tournament by placing third in the omnium and second in the team pursuit at the Asian Track Cycling Championships.
Kicking off the tournament on a high note by putting her name down as the South Korean delegation's first medalist, Shin will return to Korea before re-entering Nagoya to join her teammates in track events such as the team pursuit, madison, and omnium to hunt for additional medals.
Shin firmly stated, "Since the track is my main event, I want to approach it with even more confidence and put on a wonderful performance."
(Photo courtesy of Korea Cycling Federation, Yonhap News)
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