Heo Mi-mi of the Gyeongbuk Sports Council, a descendant of independence activist Heo Seok and a Korean resident of Japan, won a gold medal for her ancestral homeland at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Heo defeated Ariunzaya Tserenbish of Mongolia in the women's 57-kilogram judo final on the 1st at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, winning on a yuko scored with a shoulder throw.
Heo is the first South Korean judo athlete to win gold at this year's Games.
She attempted a shoulder throw just 12 seconds into the match and earned a yuko. Having seized the initiative, Heo then swept her opponent's leg to bring her down and applied pressure with groundwork.
Heo continued to attempt her signature left-arm shoulder throw while looking for an opening. None of the attempts translated into points.
From the middle of the match she focused on defense, and received one shido with about 1 minute 10 seconds left. But Heo managed the bout with poise, launching a surprise shoulder throw with roughly 20 seconds remaining. She then locked in a hold-down and let the clock run out to seal the win.
On her way to the final, Heo beat Jomarie Hart Rafael of the Philippines and Tao Yuying of China by ippon and defeated Shukurjon Aminova of Uzbekistan by disqualification.
Born to a Korean father and a Japanese mother, Heo grew up as a Korean resident of Japan and took South Korean nationality in 2021, following her grandmother's dying wish to see her compete for South Korea.
Ahead of the Paris Olympics, she drew attention when it became known that she is a fifth-generation descendant of independence activist Heo Seok.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, her first major international multi-sport event, she lost the final to Christa Deguchi of Canada on a contested ruling and took the silver medal. These Games mark her first appearance in an individual event at the Asian Games.
