Korea’s men’s 4x100-meter relay team celebrates after winning bronze at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 28. From left are Biwesa Daniel Kashama, Lee Jae-seong, Seo Min-jun and Joel Jin Nwamadi.YONHAP
NAGOYA, Japan — Korea first faced disqualification, then reinstatement, before finally earning a bronze medal — only after another country was named the third-place winner first.
Korea’s men’s 4x100-meter relay team reclaimed its bronze medal at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 on Monday after two days of twists and turns.
Seo Min-jun, Joel Jin Nwamadi, Lee Jae-seong and Biwesa Daniel Kashama clocked 38.43 seconds in the men’s 4x100-meter relay final at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, edging out Thailand by 0.06 seconds for third place.
China won gold with 38.17 seconds, followed by Chinese Taipei with 38.32 seconds.
The Korean team also shaved 0.06 seconds off the national record set by Seo, Nwamadi, Lee and Lee Jun-hyeok at the Asian Athletics Championships in May last year.
But even making it to Monday’s final had been anything but straightforward.
Korea was initially disqualified in Sunday’s heats after officials ruled that the baton exchange between first runner Kim Si-on and second runner Nwamadi had taken place outside the exchange zone. The Korean team immediately appealed the decision and was reinstated, allowing it to advance to the final.
There was no such mistake the second time around.
Seo, known for his strong starts, led off the race. Nwamadi then accelerated down the straight before handing the baton to Lee Jae-seong, who carried it smoothly around the bend to Biwesa.
Biwesa, the anchor, powered toward the finish line to secure the bronze medal.
From left: Biwesa Daniel Kashama, Lee Jae-seong and Joel Jin Nwamadi celebrate after winning bronze in the men’s 4x100-meter relay final at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 28.YONHAP
The men’s relay team set the national record three times last year and raised expectations by winning the Asian title in May of the same year. Nwamadi and Biwesa also narrowly missed the medals in the 100 meters on Friday. The two finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with both clocking 10.19 seconds.
But even after the relay team crossed the finish line on Monday, the drama was not over.
The results named Thailand as the bronze medalist after an alleged protest for Korea’s disqualification. As a result, Korea’s time was temporarily not recognized, and unofficial results also listed Thailand in third place.
More than an hour after the race ended, Korea was confirmed as the bronze medalist.
“I heard that the Japanese team filed a protest,” Korea men’s sprint team head manager Ha Kyung-soo said. “The organizing committee did not provide a clear explanation.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
