For Heo Mi-mi, 24, the Korean-Japanese standard-bearer of South Korean women's judo, the 2024 Paris Olympics left a deep sense of regret. In her first multi-sport competition wearing the Korean flag, she advanced all the way to the final before losing to Christa Deguchi of Canada on three penalties. She had memorized every word of the Korean national anthem so she could sing along after winning gold, but fell one step short.
This time, too, Heo could not bring herself to sing the anthem out loud. She was holding back tears of joy. Standing on the top step of the podium at her first Asian Games, she smiled and quietly sang along in her heart to the anthem she had wanted so badly to sing.
Heo won the women's 57-kilogram judo final on the 1st at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, beating Mongolia's Ariunjargal Terbish on a yuko score. It was the first judo gold medal of the Games and Heo's first Asian Games gold.
Heo earned a yuko with a shoulder throw just 12 seconds after the match began. Having seized the initiative, she swept her opponent's leg and applied pressure with groundwork, closing out a composed performance without conceding a score.
Heo is a descendant of Heo Seok, an independence activist who was imprisoned for posting anti-Japanese manifestos during the Japanese colonial period. She was born to a Korean father and a Japanese mother. Raised as a judoka in Japan, she won the national middle school championships there in her third year of middle school and went on to Waseda University, following the path of an elite athlete.
She could have built a successful judo career in Japan, but chose to compete for South Korea instead. The reason was her grandmother's dying wish in 2021 to see her compete as a Korean athlete. After giving up her Japanese citizenship and moving to South Korea, she won silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics and, on this day, flew the Korean flag in Japan of all places. As her grandmother had hoped, she became Asia's best in her weight class wearing the Korean colors. After the victory was confirmed, Heo clapped, stepped down from the mat and wept in the arms of head coach Jung Sung-sook.
The road to this moment was not easy. After the 2024 Paris Olympics, Heo underwent surgery on a shoulder ligament that November. She had managed with treatment for a time, but severe pain eventually left surgery as the only option. She returned at the world championships last June, only to lose her opening match for lack of competitive sharpness.
But the Olympic silver medalist did not stay down. A month later, she rebounded with gold at the Rhine-Ruhr Summer World University Games. She sharpened her form further with a title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam that November, and has now won the Asian Games in her first appearance, raising expectations for a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in two years.
"After the shoulder surgery, I worried a lot about whether I could get back to this level, so I am happy to have produced such a good result," Heo said.
Asked whether she had anything to say to her grandmother, she said: "I find myself thinking, would I have been able to come to Korea and compete like this if it had not been for my grandmother's dying wish? I am truly grateful to her for creating this happy moment." She added: "I won silver two years ago, but the regret outweighed the joy. I will train even harder so I can stand on the top step of the podium in Los Angeles."
