Seo Chae-hyun Wins Women's Lead Gold in Sport Climbing at Asian Games

South Korean sport climbing star Seo Chae-hyun (Seoul City Hall / The North Face) has secured the nation's first Asian Games gold medal in the discipline in eight years.

Seo claimed the gold medal today (October 3) in the women's lead final at the Port Messe Nagoya exhibition center in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, by reaching the top and edging out her rival Mori Ai of Japan, who scored 47+. 

Lead climbing is an event where athletes compete to see how high they can climb on a 15-meter artificial wall within a 6-minute time limit. It emphasizes endurance and efficient energy management through route finding, which involves analyzing the course in advance.

Reaching the top means successfully completing the climb all the way to the final hold.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
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