Yeo Seo-jeong, South Korea's leading female gymnast, has once again proven her class. She reclaimed the gold medal in the women's vault at the Asian Games, matching her father, Yeo Hong-cheol, in this achievement after eight years.
On September 24, at the Rainbow Hall in Nagoya, Japan, Yeo scored 14.483 points in the final of the women's vault at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
This victory marks Yeo's return to the top since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. She did not compete in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games due to her participation in the World Championships, which were crucial for qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, North Korea's An Chang-ok took the gold. An, considered a rival of Yeo, performed well in the first round but made a significant error in the second, finishing with a score of 13.666 points, which earned her the silver medal.
Yeo Seo-jeong continues to rewrite the history of South Korean gymnastics. In 2018, she became the first South Korean woman to win a gold medal in vault, and she and her father made history as the first father-daughter duo to win gold in the same event at the Asian Games. Yeo Hong-cheol achieved back-to-back victories at the 1994 Hiroshima and 1998 Bangkok Asian Games.
Additionally, Yeo Seo-jeong won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, making her and her father Olympic medalists in gymnastics. With her latest gold medal, Yeo has now matched her father's two golds in the Asian Games vault.
However, there remains a slight gap in their careers. Yeo Hong-cheol holds a silver medal from the Olympics, while Yeo Seo-jeong has a bronze. Unlike her father, who won consecutive titles at the Asian Games, Yeo Seo-jeong missed one competition. Furthermore, Yeo Hong-cheol also earned a silver medal in the men's team event at both the Hiroshima and Bangkok Games, while Yeo Seo-jeong's team finished fourth in this year's competition.
Nonetheless, Yeo Seo-jeong's career is still ongoing. She has expressed her desire to compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and if she achieves a result better than a silver medal in the upcoming Olympics, she could surpass her father's career achievements.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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