Korea's men's modern pentathlon team claimed the gold medal in the team event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, marking the second gold medal for the Korean delegation. Veteran athlete Jeon Woong-tae also earned a silver medal in the individual event, achieving medals in three consecutive Asian Games.
On September 20, at the Anjo Sports Park in Aichi, Japan, Jeon Woong-tae (Gangwon Provincial Sports Council), Seo Chang-wan (Jeonnam Provincial Office), and Lee Jong-hyun (Daejeon City Hall) secured the gold medal in the men's team event. This victory follows their gold medal win at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, resulting in back-to-back championships.
The team event in modern pentathlon does not feature separate competitions; instead, the top three individual scores from each country's athletes are combined to determine the overall ranking. The Korean team achieved the highest total score from Jeon Woong-tae, Seo Chang-wan, and Lee Jong-hyun.
This year's modern pentathlon at the Asian Games included fencing, swimming, obstacle course, and laser run (athletics and shooting), marking the first time the obstacle course was introduced after the removal of equestrian events.
Jeon Woong-tae won both the team gold and individual silver medals, achieving a record of medals in three consecutive Asian Games. He previously won gold in the individual event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the 2023 Hangzhou Games, where he also claimed the team gold, making him a two-time champion.
On this day, Jeon Woong-tae placed in the middle ranks during fencing, the obstacle course, and the 100m swimming events, starting ninth out of 18 in the laser run. However, he made a strong comeback in the running and shooting segments, finishing second overall.
Additionally, this gold medal is the second for the Korean delegation at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Earlier that day, Sung Seung-min (Korea National Sport University) won the women's individual modern pentathlon event with a score of 1492, earning the first gold medal for Korea in women's individual modern pentathlon at the Asian Games.
In the women's team event held earlier that morning, Sung Seung-min, Kim Eun-joo (Gangwon Provincial Sports Council), and Shin Soo-min (LH) combined for a total of 4271 points, securing a silver medal behind China, which scored 4318 points.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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