South Korea's men's 4x100-meter relay team advanced to the final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after a disqualification was overturned. The team had been disqualified from the heats over a faulty baton exchange, but reached the final after the Korea Association of Athletics Federations won its appeal.
The Korean quartet of Kim Si-on (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps), Namadi Joel-Jin (Yecheon County Office), Lee Jae-sung (Jeonnam Gwangju City Hall) and Biwesa Daniel Kasama (Ansan City Hall) clocked 39.33 seconds for fourth place in the second heat of the men's 4x100-meter relay on the 27th at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.
That time ranked seventh among all 12 competing teams, within the top eight that qualify for the final. But the picture changed when a disqualification was announced immediately after the race. Officials ruled that the baton pass from lead runner Kim to second runner Joel-Jin had taken place outside the designated exchange zone.
The Korea Association of Athletics Federations immediately protested the ruling. It submitted video of the race to argue that the exchange did not warrant disqualification, and organizers accepted the argument, reversing the call.
"Right after the ruling, we submitted all the video we had and immediately appealed, saying we were not subject to disqualification, and the organizers accepted our argument," said Ha Kyung-soo, head coach of the men's sprint team. "We are going to the final tomorrow."
Korea is aiming for its best-ever result at the event, better than the bronze medal it won at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. The men's 4x100-meter relay final is set for the night of the 28th at the same venue.
