The Korean canoe sprint team triumphed in the men's kayak four-person 500m event, overcoming a fierce challenge from China to claim the gold medal. The decisive margin was just 0.255 seconds.
The team, consisting of Jo Kwang-hee, Kim Hyo-bin, Jang Sang-won, and Choi Min-kyu, recorded a time of 1:22.587 in the final held on September 24 at the Miyoshi Lake canoeing venue in Aichi, Japan. They finished ahead of China, which clocked in at 1:22.842, while Japan took third place with a time of 1:25.909.
Korea took the lead early in the race.
Starting from lane four, Korea completed the first 250m segment with the fastest time among competitors at 40.44 seconds. In the latter half, they faced a close contest with China in lane five, which was trailing by just 0.04 seconds. Korea maintained their focus and crossed the finish line first, narrowly beating China by 0.255 seconds.
This gold medal also ended Korea's 'silver medal jinx' in this event. In the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, Korea finished second to Kazakhstan, and in the 2022 Hangzhou Games, they secured another silver behind China. After two consecutive second-place finishes, Korea finally achieved gold on their third attempt.
The team showed promise from the preliminary rounds, where they secured first place in heat two with a time of 1:25.383, advancing directly to the final. In the final, they improved their time by approximately 2.8 seconds to clinch victory.
Canoe sprint is a race where competitors paddle straight over a set distance on calm waters, with events divided into 'kayak,' where athletes sit in covered boats and use double-bladed paddles, and 'canoe,' where they kneel on one knee and use single-bladed paddles.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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