Delayed Recovery Disrupts Competition, Leaving Athletes Anxious

[Anchor]

While glad tidings of medals won by our athletes continue to arrive, the delayed recovery from floods that occurred two weeks ago is still causing disruptions in the operation of the games. The rowing events have not even started yet, and the competition schedule has been scaled down.

Reporter Yu Byeongmin met with the athletes in person.

[Reporter]

Two weeks ago, record-breaking torrential downpours caused widespread damage in Nagoya, and the aftermath of that damage remains visible at the rowing venue.

All floating lanes have been destroyed, and with recovery still incomplete, the opening races originally scheduled for the day before yesterday (September 20) have faced repeated delays and been postponed until tomorrow.

[Kang Woo-gyu / National Rowing Team Member: I have been rowing for about 18 to 19 years, but this is my first time experiencing a venue like this.]

Proper training is also impossible.

The athletes are training in an empty river without lanes.

Normally, they should be training in a venue equipped with lanes, but the lanes at the venue are only now being installed.

To make matters worse, strong winds forced a suspension of the venue's restoration work, and hazardous practice conditions led to outdoor training being replaced with indoor sessions.

[Hong Kong Rowing Athlete: Look at that. It's probably because of the water condition.]

[Hong Kong Rowing Athlete: The wind is too strong.]

[Hong Kong Rowing Athlete: The organizing committee says a typhoon is coming back.]

Compounding the difficulties, shuttle buses running between the athletes' village and the venue are scheduled at one-hour intervals, turning arrivals into chaos and packing the interiors of the buses to the brim.

[Kang Woo-gyu / National Rowing Team Member: It's absolute chaos, resembling a bustling market. If you miss a bus, you have to wait another hour. (I've seen people) desperately trying to board first no matter what.]

Veteran Kim Dong-yong, who served as a flag bearer at the opening ceremony, wanted to finish his fifth Asian Games on a high note by competing in two events. However, with the original five-day schedule compressed into just two days, he had to withdraw from one of them.

[Kim Dong-yong / National Rowing Team Member: With everything, from preliminaries to finals, packed into the final two days, it is a bit disappointing, but I'm still focusing on the quadruple sculls to achieve good results.]

[Go Korea Rowing, Fighting!]

Although they are left with only two days, our athletes are determined to powerfully pull their national oars and race toward gold.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

(Video footage captured by Kim Se-kyung | Video edited by Yoon Tae-ho | Design by Lee Ga-jin)

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