The South Korean canoe sprint national team has claimed the top spot in Asia with an exhilarating victory at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Comprising Cho Kwang-hee, Kim Hyo-bin, Jang Sang-won, and Choi Min-gyu, the South Korean team secured the gold medal with a time of 1 minute, 22.587 seconds in the men's kayak four (K4) 500m Final A held at the Miyoshiko Canoe Slalom Venue in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on September 24.

This victory marks the 9th gold medal for the South Korean delegation at the current games, as well as the country's first-ever gold in the men's K4 500m event, often referred to as the "flower of canoeing," in Asian Games history.

Led by veteran Cho Kwang-hee, South Korea had previously settled for consecutive silver medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games, finally rewriting history on their third attempt.

South Korea took control of the race right from the start.

Starting in lane 4, South Korea surged ahead, passing the first 250m mark with the fastest time among all participating countries at 40.44 seconds.

In the second half of the race, a nail-biting battle unfolded against China in lane 5, which closely pursued South Korea with a margin of just 0.04 seconds at the 250m split.

However, South Korea maintained their focus until the very end to protect their lead, crossing the finish line first ahead of second-place China (1 minute, 22.842 seconds) by a narrow margin of 0.255 seconds.

The bronze medal went to Japan, which recorded a time of 1 minute, 25.909 seconds.

The national team had already signaled a "gold-medal race" by displaying excellent condition in the preliminary heats held the previous day.

Competing in heat 2 at the same venue on September 23, South Korea finished first with a time of 1 minute, 25.383 seconds, comfortably securing a direct berth in Final A.

Canoe sprint is a sport where competitors race in a straight line on calm water, and rankings are determined by the order in which they cross the finish line.

Teams that finish near the top of their preliminary heats advance directly to the medal-deciding finals without going through the semifinals.

Depending on the competition format, the sport is divided into "kayak," where athletes sit in a covered boat and use a double-bladed paddle, and "canoe," where athletes kneel on one knee in an open boat and use a single-bladed paddle.

Meanwhile, Cho Sin-young and Kim So-hyun, who competed in the women's kayak double (K2) 500m Final A held on the same day, finished fourth with a time of 1 minute, 53.229 seconds, narrowly missing out on a medal.

The gap between them and the third-place team from Uzbekistan (1 minute, 49.585 seconds), who claimed the final spot on the podium, was 3.644 seconds.

Lee Ye-rin finished fifth in the women's canoe single (C1) 200m final with a time of 48.183 seconds, concluding her campaign at the games.
 
(Photo: Xinhua, Yonhap News)