Seo Chaehyun (Seoul City Hall, North Face) secured a bronze medal in women's bouldering at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, marking her second consecutive Asian Games medal. She will also compete in her main event, lead climbing, aiming for gold.
On October 1, at the Port Messe Nagoya in Japan, Seo scored 70 points in the women's bouldering final, finishing in third place.
The gold medal went to China's Zhang Yutong with 85 points, while Japan's Mori Ai took silver with 84.8 points. Seo and China's Luo Zuru both scored 70 points, but Seo claimed the bronze based on her superior semifinal performance, where she ranked first.
Seo started strong, completing the first problem on her first attempt and securing 50 points on the second problem with a successful hold. However, the third problem proved challenging; Seo reached the zone hold but failed to complete it, finishing with 60 points before the final problem. In contrast, both Zhang and Mori completed the third problem, putting them ahead.
In the final problem, none of the eight finalists managed to complete it. Luo had already secured 70 points by reaching the zone hold, and Seo matched that score but could not secure the top hold, concluding her performance.
Seo's final score was tied with Luo's, but her earlier semifinal performance, where she completed all four problems on her first attempts for a perfect score of 100, gave her the edge.
Meanwhile, fellow finalist Noh Hee-joo (Busan Family Climbing Club) finished fifth with 69.7 points.
Seo also won a medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, where she earned silver in the women's combined event, which includes both bouldering and lead climbing. With her bronze in bouldering this time, she has now reached the podium in consecutive Asian Games.
Seo will compete in her main event, lead climbing, starting on October 2, with the finals scheduled for October 3.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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