Korea claims historic kayak medal, secures delegation's first double gold

Korea won the gold medal in the men's kayak double 500-meter race at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Friday, with Cho Gwang-hee and Kim Hyo-bin becoming the first double gold medalists in the  Korean delegation.

The Korean duo finished the race in 1:31.859 in the final of the men's kayak double 500-meter event at Miyoshi Lake Canoe Course in Miyoshi, just east of the main host city of Nagoya.

Korea edged out Japan by 0.317 seconds, with Iran finishing 1.010 seconds behind the champions.

It was Korea's second gold in canoe sprint at the competition following the gold medal in the men's kayak four 500-meter event the previous day.

As a result, Cho and Kim, who also competed in the four-person event, became the first Korean athletes to win two gold medals at these Asian Games, which opened last Saturday.

Cho improved to the top step of the podium four years after winning silver in the event at the previous Hangzhou Asian Games with a different teammate.

Friday's gold was also Korea's first Asian Games title in the kayak double 500-meter event in 36 years, since the 1990 Beijing Asiad.

In the final, the Cho-Kim duo crossed the 250-meter mark in 43.73 seconds, slightly behind the Kyrgyzstan team, but staged a comeback over the final 250 meters in a nip and tuck race with Japan, whose time of 47.616 seconds over the last 250 meters was the fastest.

Canoe sport comprises two disciplines — canoe sprint and canoe slalom — with kayak events contested in both.

Yonhap