Shedding Tears of Joy, Canoe Duo Becomes South Korea's First Double Gold Medalists at Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

Cho Gwang-hee and Kim Hyo-bin (Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall), who have quietly poured their sweat into canoeing, have become the first double gold medalists for the South Korean delegation at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Cho and Kim sliced through the golden waters for two consecutive days, earning the honor of becoming the South Korean delegation's first multi-medalists of the competition.

Following yesterday's historic joint victory—winning South Korea's first-ever canoe gold medal in the men's kayak four (K4) 500m event—they crossed the finish line first today in the kayak double (K2) 500m event with a time of 1 minute, 31.859 seconds, claiming victory in the event for the first time in 36 years since the 1990 Beijing Games.

This also marks the 11th gold medal for the South Korean delegation at this games.

Standing at the highest step of the podium at the Miyoshi Lake Canoe Course in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, the two athletes could not hold back their tears.

Meeting reporters in the mixed zone after the award ceremony, Kim Hyo-bin moistened his eyes once again, saying, "The times spent struggling and preparing with my older brother flashed before me, and sorrow welled up." Cho Gwang-hee comforted his younger teammate, saying, "You already cried earlier, why are you doing this again?"

Having reached their finest moment, the two athletes sincerely hoped that this remarkable achievement would bring a new resonance to canoeing, an unpopular sport.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.