Korea wins relay bronze as China baton exchange questions linger after Asian Games final
Korea set a national record in the men’s 4x100-meter relay, while footage raised questions about an unpenalized Chinese exchange.
Chinese runners in Lane 5 appear to exchange the baton outside the takeover zone, marked by the red circle, during the men’s 4x100-meter relay final on Sept. 28.
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NAGOYA, Japan — Korea’s men’s 4x100-meter relay team walked away with bronze at the Asian Games on Monday, but broadcast footage raised questions about China’s baton exchange, a potential violation that could have affected the medal standings.
Slow-motion footage appeared to show China allegedly completing a baton exchange outside the designated takeover zone. Had China been disqualified, Chinese Taipei would have moved up to gold, Korea to silver and Thailand to bronze.
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 the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Monday, beating Thailand by 0.06 seconds. China finished first in 38.17 seconds, followed by Chinese Taipei in 38.32 seconds.
Korea also lowered the national record by 0.06 seconds. The previous record was set by Seo, Nwamadi, Lee Jae-seong and Lee Jun-hyeok at the Asian Athletics Championships in May last year.
Even Korea’s bronze took some time to be confirmed. After the final, official results temporarily listed Thailand, rather than Korea, as the bronze medalist following a protest over a possible violation during the race. Thailand was also listed in third place in the unofficial results at one point. Korea’s bronze was eventually confirmed about an hour after the race ended.
“I heard that the Japanese national team filed a protest,” said Ha Kyung-soo, head coach of the Korean men’s sprint team. “The organizing committee did not give us a clear explanation, and results that were difficult to understand appeared on the website.”
While Korea’s result came under scrutiny after the race, the apparent issue with China’s baton exchange went unpenalized.
Korea had already faced a disqualification scare in the heats the day before.
Officials initially disqualified the team after ruling that the baton exchange from first runner Kim Si-on to second runner Nwamadi occurred outside the takeover zone. The national team immediately appealed the ruling, which was overturned, allowing Korea to advance to the final. After that turbulent path to the final, Korea held off Thailand to finish No. 3.
BY KIM HYO-KYOUNG [[email protected]]
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.
