GAMAGORI, Japan — Choi Ji-woon, a 15-year-old middle school student, won the gold medal in the boys' dinghy event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games youth sailing competition.
Choi finished first with a total of 25 points after the final, 12th race wrapped up at the Gamagori Kaiyo Yacht Harbor in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 3rd. It is the first time in 12 years that South Korean sailing has claimed a gold medal in an Asian Games youth division, since Park Sung-bin won the U-16 Optimist title at the 2014 Incheon Games.
Sailing awards penalty points based on finishing position in each race — one point for first place, two for second — and the competitor with the lowest total wins. Because conditions vary widely with the natural environment, multiple races are held and the two worst scores are dropped from the final tally.
Choi stayed near the top early in the regatta, winning the second and fourth races. But he slipped to fourth overall after falling behind rivals in the eighth through 10th races held on the 2nd.
The final two races were briefly delayed on the morning of the 3rd because of a lack of wind. Once racing resumed, Choi crossed the finish line first in the 11th race, then placed second in the 12th and final race to move ahead of his rivals.
The results left Choi tied on 25 points with Singapore's Koh Ian, who had been leading. Under tiebreaker rules that compare competitors' results starting from their best finishes, Choi was declared the winner because he had more top placings. Thiago Cheng De Vilmore Salgado of Hong Kong took third with 27 points.
