Na Asem-jin Finishes 4th in Men's 100m with 10.17 Seconds

South Korean sprinting ace Na Asem-jin (Yecheon County Office) finished fourth in the men's 100m at his first Asian Games.

Na Asem-jin finished behind Puripol Boonson (9.90 seconds, Thailand), Ali Al-Balushi (10.04 seconds, Oman), and Mohammed Al-Balushi (10.11 seconds, Oman) with a time of 10.17 seconds in the men's 100m final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, yesterday (the 25th).

Na attempted to become the third South Korean athlete to win a medal in the men's 100m at the Asian Games, following Seo Mal-gu (Bangkok 1978, bronze medal) and Jang Jae-keun (New Delhi 1982, silver medal), but narrowly missed the podium.

Having placed first in his heat and fifth overall with a time of 10.23 seconds in the preliminaries the previous day, Na secured his ticket to the final by winning his semifinal heat with a time of 10.17 seconds earlier in the day.

He ran fiercely in the final stage, falling short by just 0.06 seconds.

Na Asem-jin was born to a South Korean mother and a father who was a Nigerian track and field long jumper, and he began his career in track and field in the fifth grade of elementary school.

In April of this year, he set his personal best and the fifth-fastest time in South Korean history with 10.19 seconds at a domestic competition, and in July, he clocked 10.13 seconds at the Niigata Prefecture Track and Field Championships in Japan, tying the second-fastest time in South Korean history.

Bivesa Daniel Kasama (Ansan City Hall), who also competed in the final, finished fifth with a time of 10.19 seconds.

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