Korea glides to gold in men’s four-person 500-meter kayak event at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan — Korea won a gold medal in the men's kayak four 500-meter event at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Japan on Thursday, claiming the country's first gold in canoeing at the Asiad in eight years.

Korea, represented by Cho Gwang-hee, Kim Hyo-bin, Jang Sang-won and Choi Min-kyu, finished the final in 1 minute and 22.587 seconds at the Miyoshi Lake Canoe Course in Miyoshi City, just east of the host city Nagoya.

China took silver in 1:22.842, while Japan won bronze in 1:25.909.

Starting in fourth lane, Korea posted the fastest time of 40.44 seconds over the first 250 meters (820 feet). China, racing in the fifth lane, closed the gap over the second half of the race, but Korea held on to win by 0.255 seconds.

Korea finished first in its heat on Wednesday to advance directly to the final.

The country won three silver medals in canoeing at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023 but did not win gold.

The country’s previous canoeing gold came at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, when Cho Gwang-hee won the kayak single 200-meter race for his second straight Asiad title after also winning gold at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

BY KIM HYO-KYONG [[email protected]]