▲ Cho Gwang-hee and Kim Hyo-bin pose for a commemorative photo.
"I think giving an interview after winning a championship is the hardest part. It has to come from the heart, but there was nothing happy about it."
This was the opening remark by national canoeist Cho Gwang-hee (Ulsan City Hall) during a press conference for medalists held at the Korea House for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on September 26.
On September 24, Cho teamed up with Kim Hyo-bin, Jang Sang-won, and Choi Min-gyu to win the gold medal in the men's kayak four (K4) 500m sprint. The following day, he paired up with Kim Hyo-bin again to top the podium in the kayak double (K2), earning the honor of becoming the South Korean delegation's first double gold medalist of the Games.
Notably, the K4 event marked South Korea's first-ever gold medal in the discipline.
Despite stepping up to be celebrated, Cho's expression was not bright as he confessed, "Even though we won, there was so much sorrow in my heart, and remembering how hard we pushed through with sheer grit made the sorrow outweigh the joy."
He explained, "For the K4, your chances of winning increase when the athletes practice together for a long time, but there were countless times the national team would be assembled and then disbanded. There were times when we had to gather on our own to train, traveling from all over the country to practice at the Misari or Andong courses." He added, "The K4 gold medal was a surprise, and thanks to that, we seemed to gain momentum for the K2 as well."
Showing emotion several times during the press conference and subsequent meeting with reporters as a flood of feelings washed over him, Cho was asked what improvements he hopes to see in the environment. He expressed his wish, saying, "First of all, I hope (the federation) will listen closely to the athletes' opinions."
Kim Hyo-bin (Ulsan City Hall) stated, "Since there are very few days we can train at the athletes' village, we often have to struggle training outside of it. There are also limits to buying equipment." He added, "If active support is provided, canoeing will be able to take a step further and develop beyond where it is now."
Cho added, "When we couldn't train on the river in the winter, they provided 'ergometers' at the athletes' village so we could train indoors. The previous ones were over 10 years old, so getting new ones was a big help." He continued, "I want to express my gratitude to Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Yoo Seung-min."
Choo Ga-eun (Imsil County Office), a shooting gold medalist who attended the press conference alongside them, recalled the Tokyo Olympics held in Japan five years ago.
Choo, who won the women's 10m air pistol individual event on September 23, smiled and said, "I didn't do well at the Tokyo Olympics. Coming back to Japan and seemingly getting my revenge feels liberating and an honor. Winning a gold medal still feels like a dream and hard to believe."
The shooting national team had been anxious as no gold medals came for a while after the start of the Games, but thanks to Choo, they were able to fire their first "golden shot" on the fourth day.
National team coach Lee Ho-lim shared, "During our domestic winter training camps, we replicated an environment identical to the Aichi Prefecture shooting range to conduct finals training. A shooting range that was 30 minutes away sometimes took an hour and a half to get to in order to match on-site conditions." He noted, "When we got here, the reality was even harsher, but the experience of training back home acted positively."
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