The South Korean men's 400m relay team was disqualified at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games due to a baton exchange error, preventing them from advancing to the finals.
Kim Si-on (Military Athletic Corps), Namadi Joel Jin (Yecheon County Office), Lee Jae-sung (Gwangju City Hall), and Biwesa Daniel Kasama (Ansan City Hall) were disqualified during the preliminary heat 2 held on September 27 at the Mizuhokoen Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.
Starting in lane 3, South Korea finished the race in 39.33 seconds, placing fourth in their heat. This time ranked them seventh overall among the countries that completed heats, seemingly securing a spot in the finals.
However, the final ruling by the officials declared them disqualified due to an infraction during the first baton exchange. Kim Si-on reportedly passed the baton to Joel Jin outside the designated exchange zone.
This marks the second consecutive time South Korea has failed to medal in this event, having previously won bronze at the 1986 Seoul and 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Expectations were high for this team, especially following the recent performances of Joel Jin and Biwesa, who both recorded a tie for the second-fastest time in Korean history in the men's 100m at 10.13 seconds. In the 100m finals, they finished fourth (10.17 seconds) and fifth (10.19 seconds), respectively, showing promising form before their disqualification.
Meanwhile, the women's 400m relay team, consisting of Seo Ji-hyun (Jincheon County Office), Kim Seo-yoon (Changwon City Hall), Kim Myung-ji (Jeongseon County Office), and Kim Joo-ha (Siheung City Hall), secured the last spot in the finals by finishing fifth in their heat with a time of 44.94 seconds, ranking eighth overall. The women's relay final is scheduled to take place on September 28 at approximately 10 p.m. local time.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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