The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games closed on the 4th after 16 days of competition. South Korea finished third overall behind China and Japan with 39 gold, 43 silver and 68 bronze medals. The gold medal count was the country's worst since the 1982 New Delhi Games, when it won 28, but the result carried added weight as a test ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics, now less than two years away. Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, said the Games were "important in themselves, but also a stepping stone and part of the process toward the LA Olympics."
Athletes have already turned their attention to Los Angeles. Some are preparing for the National Sports Festival, which opens on the 16th of this month, while others face a packed schedule of international events including world championships.
Seoul Economic Daily on the 5th interviewed Kim Young-beom, whose performance in Nagoya announced the arrival of a "swimming monster," and Yeo Seo-jeong, who laid the groundwork to move beyond her "vault fairy" nickname and become a dominant force in the event. Kim is looking ahead to his first Olympics, while Yeo is preparing for her third — and possibly last — after Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024.
Swimming's Kim Young-beom
Steady growth after missing the Paris team
Five medals including one gold, now a pillar of Korean swimming
"First target is breaking into the 46-second range in the 100-meter freestyle"
Kim Young-beom, 20, of the Gangwon State Government team, represents a new breed in Korean swimming. He stands 195 centimeters tall with a wingspan of 216 centimeters, and his soft stroke belies his powerful build. Once labeled a prospect, Kim swept one gold, two silver and two bronze medals at these Games to establish himself as a mainstay of Korean swimming.
Recalling the moment his gold in the 50-meter freestyle was confirmed, Kim said: "I wasn't happy with the race compared with the morning heats, so I thought I wouldn't win. The time didn't appear on the scoreboard for a while, and two or three seconds later I saw my name in first place. I couldn't contain my joy."
Born in Chuncheon, Gangwon State, Kim drew attention as the future of Korean swimming when, as a second-year student at Gangwon Physical Education High School, he swam on the men's 4x100-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter medley relay teams at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, winning silver in both. He suffered the disappointment of failing to qualify at the national trials ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but showed steady progress the following year by setting a national record in the 100-meter freestyle at the National Sports Festival. After collecting five medals in five days in Nagoya — silver in the 100-meter freestyle, gold in the 50-meter freestyle, bronze in the mixed and men's 4x100-meter medley relays, and silver in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay — Kim is now called the ace of a Korean swimming team with its eyes on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Asked why Korean swimming keeps producing new stars on the world stage at the Olympics and Asian Games, Kim pointed to senior swimmers who opened the way and to the synergy among teammates. "Swimmers like Hwang Sun-woo cleared a path ahead of us, so we had someone to watch and learn from," he said. "With outstanding teammates beside me, there's synergy and our goals naturally rise. I'm confident even better swimmers will keep emerging."
Despite the spotlight that came with his haul of medals, Kim had struggled from last year until just before these Games. He went into winter training after strong results in his final meet of 2025, but could not build his pace as planned this season. "I even found myself wishing the Asian Games would be postponed by a year," Kim said.
His only option was to push straight through. He focused on raising the quality of his training until he was satisfied with it. As he gradually refined a race in which his movements connected smoothly and his arms turned over easily, he also regained his psychological stability — and that soon translated into explosive results in Nagoya.
"I want people to say Kim Young-beom could win a medal." Establishing himself as a contender within two years
Having cleared a major hurdle, Kim is now looking at a wider stage. Having grown another level by facing the world's top sprinters, including four-time champion Pan Zhanle of China, he is already picturing the Olympic podium in Los Angeles. "My first target is to get into the 46-second range in the 100-meter freestyle as soon as possible," Kim said, noting his time at these Games was 47.65 seconds for silver. "After that, it's to finish first among the world's best."
Kim said he has mapped out his plans step by step. "I think I've clearly built momentum from these Asian Games," he said. "Rather than declaring right away that I'll win Olympic gold, I want to climb one step at a time."
Returning on the 6th after training with his club team in Japan, Kim pledged: "I'll establish myself as a genuine medal contender within two years, so that even on the world stage people say Kim Young-beom could win a medal if he goes to the Olympics."
Gymnastics' Yeo Seo-jeong
Second gold in eight years after a string of injuries and surgeries
Joins father Yeo Hong-chul as a multiple Asian Games gold medalist
"I'll refine my skills and do everything I can"
The ordeal that followed the 2024 Paris Olympics was brutal. She dislocated her right shoulder in training and then injured her Achilles tendon, requiring two operations. Rehabilitation lasted a full two years, during which she questioned whether she would ever compete again. But the "vault fairy" did not give way, and after enduring that punishing stretch she soared again, taking Asian Games gold.
"The past two years were a really difficult time of injury and rehabilitation. The moment the gold medal was confirmed, I felt all that effort had been repaid," said Yeo Seo-jeong, 24, of the Jecheon City Hall team. "Now I want to keep my body in good shape through the LA Olympics in two years and focus on showing what I can do."
Yeo took the title in the women's vault final at Nagoya City Gymnasium on the 24th of last month with an average score of 14.483 across her two attempts. It was her second Asian Games gold after the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, making her a multiple Asian Games gold medalist alongside her father, Yeo Hong-chul, executive director of the Korea Gymnastics Association, who won in Hiroshima in 1994 and Bangkok in 1998.
"Before the competition my dad told me, 'You did well yesterday and you'll do well today. I love you.' That stayed with me most and gave me strength," Yeo said. "Just being able to walk the path my father walked first is an honor. It feels surreal and makes me happy that my father and I now have two Asian Games golds between us."
Yeo's career has been a series of firsts and a glittering chapter in Korean women's artistic gymnastics. She won gold at her first multi-sport international event, the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, as soon as she turned 16 and became eligible for senior competition. At 19, at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she won bronze — the first Olympic medal by a Korean woman in gymnastics. But the shoulder dislocation and subsequent Achilles tendon surgery that came ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics were severe enough to threaten her career.
The rehabilitation that stretched close to two years was lonely and painful. Yeo signaled her return to form by winning the Asian Championships in June, then claimed gold at these Asian Games, reclaiming the throne she believes is hers. "After two surgeries and nothing but rehabilitation, I had a lot of doubts about whether I could really compete again," she said. "Rather than some grand goal, I just wanted to stand in a competition venue healthy again." She added: "This Asian Games gold also gave me the confidence that I can compete on the big stage again. My biggest goal now is to carry this momentum and prepare for the LA Olympics in good health."
A last dance at the Olympics? I won't define it that way. I want to leave with no regrets
Given her age — not young for a gymnast — and her history of major surgery, the prevailing view is that Los Angeles will effectively be her final Olympics. But Yeo's resolve was firmer than that.
"The LA Olympics may be my last, but I don't want to compete with a distant retirement date already set. My feeling that I want to do everything I can without regret hasn't changed, then or now. I'll refine my skills and prepare for the LA Olympics step by step."
Yeo, who is staying in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province for the National Sports Festival, said: "I want to tell myself, after getting through all that, that I went through a lot and held up well. I'll keep taking care of my body so I can show the people who support me a good performance for a long time to come."
