Disqualified Ruling Overturned... Advancing to Finals to Eye Medals in Relay

The men's 4x100m relay national team, which had been disqualified in the preliminary round, successfully overturned the decision through an appeal and dramatically advanced to the finals.

An official from the national track and field team stated, "Immediately after the ruling, we submitted all the footage we had and filed an appeal stating that we were not subject to disqualification, and the organizers accepted our argument," adding, "We will advance to the finals tomorrow."

The official explained, "The referees judged that we exceeded the baton exchange zone, but from our perspective, that was not the case, so we appealed, and this appeal was accepted."

The men's relay team, consisting of Kim Si-on (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps), Namadi Joel Jin (Yecheon County Office), Lee Jae-sung (Gwangju City Hall, South Jeolla Province), and Bewesa Daniel Casama (Ansan City Hall), received a disqualification penalty yesterday (the 27th) in Heat 2 of the men's 4x100m relay preliminary at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.

The team recorded 39.33 seconds, finishing fourth in their heat behind Japan (38.71 seconds), Thailand (38.89 seconds), and Oman (38.99 seconds), and ranked seventh overall out of 12 competing teams, initially appearing to secure a spot in the finals for the top eight teams.

However, the judges ruled that the athletes crossed the baton exchange zone during the handoff from the first runner Kim Si-on to the second runner Namadi Joel Jin, resulting in a disqualification.

The national team immediately appealed and succeeded in overturning the decision, allowing them to continue their quest for a medal.

South Korea aims for a medal in the men's 4x100m relay, spearheaded by Namadi Joel Jin and Bewesa, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the men's 100m at this tournament.

The finals will take place tonight at the same venue on the 28th, with South Korea competing against Singapore, Sri Lanka, Oman, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Seo Ji-hyun (Jincheon County Office), Kim Seo-yoon (Changwon City Hall), Kim Myeong-ji (Jeongseon County Office), and Kim Ju-ha (Siheung City Hall), who competed in Heat 2 of the women's 4x100m relay preliminaries, recorded 44.94 seconds to finish fifth in their heat and eighth overall by record, advancing to the finals.

Cho Ha-rim (Mungyeong City Hall), competing in the women's 3,000m steeplechase final, finished eighth among eight participating athletes with a time of 10 minutes and 26.06 seconds.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.