'Sehyeon unnie, 10 more Asian Games' — eldest returns after 8 years to claim medley relay bronze

Tears filled the mixed zone after the medal ceremony for the women's 400-meter medley relay — the final swimming event of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

South Korea's team of Kim Seung-won (backstroke), Park Si-eun (breaststroke), Ahn Se-hyun (butterfly) and Heo Yeon-gyeong (freestyle) clocked 4 minutes 0.67 seconds in Friday's final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre to claim the bronze medal.

By the time Kim Seung-won and Ahn Se-hyun entered the mixed zone, their eyes were already glistening. Standing before reporters, both broke down in tears and held each other for a long moment before they could speak.

Ahn was the heart of the bronze-medal effort. After a prolonged period of struggle and absence from competition, the 31-year-old returned to the Asian Games for the first time in eight years, since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.

"I'm already grateful just to have Korea's medley relay in medal contention, and it's an honor to race alongside such wonderful teammates," said Park Si-eun, 19. "Sehyeon unnie has been cheering us on and lifting our spirits since we first arrived at the athletes' village. Having a sunbae whose very presence gives you strength made me feel so much more confident going into this relay."

Kim Seung-won, 16 and the youngest on the team, said she had prepared harder than ever before and had no regrets, but was moved to tears by falling short of her personal best. "I feel sorry to my parents, but racing alongside such amazing seniors made me resolve to give even more in my role," she said.

Freestyle anchor Heo Yeon-gyeong, 21, drew laughs when she said: "Aside from Sehyeon unnie, we're all the youngest ones, so there was a lot of anxiety — but unnie told us to go out there and have fun, and that gave us the energy we needed. I think Sehyeon unnie has about 10 more Asian Games left in her, so she really shouldn't be crying right now."

Ahn laughed off the remark — "If I swim 10 more Asian Games, won't I be 70?" — but her eyes welled up all the same. "I'm just so grateful they say things like that," she said. "There are parts I'm disappointed in myself for, because the long time away meant I couldn't contribute as much as I wanted to. But I gave everything I had prepared."

Ahn also set her sights on what comes next. "We missed the national record in this relay by just fractions of a second," she said. "If this same lineup comes back together next year, I'm certain we can break it. I won't give up — I want to keep pushing with these wonderful younger teammates all the way to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics."

Ahn had already won bronze on Wednesday in the mixed 400-meter medley relay, swimming alongside Kim Seung-won, Choi Dong-yeol and Kim Yeong-beom to set a national record of 3:44.12. Friday's women's relay bronze gave her two medals in her Asian Games comeback after an eight-year absence.