Kang Jun-i: "The Biggest Turning Point... I Will Complete My Own Signature Tricks"

Kang Jun-i (17, Seoul Yeongdeungpo High School), who captured the first Asian Games gold medal in the history of South Korean skateboarding, still wore a dazed expression a day after his historic victory.

"It still feels like a dream and unbelievable to win the championship at my very first competition wearing the Taegeuk mark," Kang said during a medalist press conference held today (the 28th) at the Korea House for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. "Perhaps because the tension finally faded, I tossed and turned until dawn and managed to get only two or three hours of sleep before coming here."

Kang climbed to the top of the podium at the previous day's men's street skateboarding final, scoring 88.45 points in the run session and 92.40 points in the trick session for a combined total of 180.85 points.

The path to victory was dramatic.

In the first and second trick sessions, he repeatedly failed ambitious, high-difficulty tricks, leaving him with a score of zero.

Driven to the brink, Kang attempted the same trick once more in the final third session and executed it to perfection.

"After failing up to the second session, I ran crying to my coach and clung to him, asking what I should do," Kang recalled. "He calmed me down by saying, 'Pull yourself together and believe in yourself,' which helped me regain my composure."

He continued, "Right before the third session, I looked up at the stands and spotted my mother. Wanting to repay my parents for all their hard work and sacrifices for me, I braced myself and thought, 'Let's just go for it.' After first place was confirmed, I felt choked up with the thought, 'Mom, I did it.'"

With his birthday falling tomorrow (September 29), he noted, "I received over 100 congratulatory messages, even from my middle school friends. Winning my first international competition and getting a sponsor was the first turning point of my life, and winning an X Games medal was the second. But this Asian Games gold medal is the biggest turning point of my life."

The victory carried special emotional significance for both the athlete and his coach, as it was achieved on the home turf of Japan, a powerhouse in the sport, by defeating Japanese competitors.

National team head coach Shin Jung-hyuk, a first-generation South Korean skateboarder, assessed, "When we first held a exchange match with Japan 10 years ago, we suffered a devastating, complete defeat and experienced a huge shock. Coaches have been sharpening their blades behind the scenes for the past 10 years, and that fruit has passed down to the next generation through Kang Jun-i, opening a new era."

Coach Shin emphasized, "Even compared to Japan's top-tier athletes, Kang Jun-i is superior in terms of technical aspects. However, the shortage of domestic facilities is a serious problem. The courses change with every competition, and it is difficult to achieve good results in events like park skateboarding without riding various obstacles. To achieve sustained success, expanding training facilities and broadening the base are desperately needed."

In fact, when Kang was growing up in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, there was no training facility, so he had to take a late-night bus to Seoul every Friday to practice, eventually forcing him to relocate his residence to Seoul due to the lack of training environments.

"Things got a bit better after a park was built in Boramae Park, but the space is still far from sufficient for proper practice," Kang shared.

Having secured military service exemptions before even graduating from high school, Kang's sights are now firmly set on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which will take place two years from now.

Expressing confidence, Coach Shin said, "The Asian Games is a preview stage for the Olympics. We competed against the athletes we will face in LA and won by a large margin."

Kang shared his bold aspirations, stating, "Winning first place at the Olympics would be the best outcome, but regardless of the ranking, my biggest goal is to complete and showcase my own difficult, sophisticated, and brand-new tricks to the entire world."

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