South Korea sets national record, nearly stripped of bronze at Asian Games

South Korea's men's 4x400m relay team set a national record at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games — only to nearly have their bronze medal taken away in a baffling officiating mix-up.

Seo Min-jun, Namadi Joel-Jin, Lee Jae-seong and Biwesa Daniel Gasama crossed the finish line third Monday at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, behind China (38.17 seconds) and Taiwan (38.32 seconds).

The team clocked 38.43 seconds, breaking the previous national record of 38.49 seconds — set at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, in May last year — by 0.06 seconds.

After the race, however, the official tournament website listed Thailand as the bronze medalist. Thailand had finished fourth with a time of 38.49 seconds, yet the site recorded the country in third place instead of South Korea. The organizing committee also announced Thailand as the bronze medalist in its official medal notification.

Ha Gyeong-su, head coach of the men's sprint team, told Yonhap he had heard the Japanese team filed an objection, adding that the organizing committee offered no clear explanation while the website showed results that were difficult to understand. The South Korean team immediately lodged a protest, and the organizing committee eventually reversed the decision, re-announcing South Korea as the bronze medalist.

South Korean athletics faced a string of officiating controversies at the Games. The men's 4x400m relay team had been disqualified in Sunday's preliminary round after officials ruled that the baton exchange between first-leg runner Kim Si-on and second-leg runner Namadi Joel-Jin had taken place outside the exchange zone. South Korea successfully appealed the ruling, advanced to the final and ultimately claimed bronze alongside the new national record.

A similar incident unfolded in Monday's mixed 4x400m relay preliminary round. South Korea could not finish the race after an Indian athlete slipped and collided with the team, yet the squad was handed a disqualification. South Korea appealed and overturned the ruling, even running a solo re-race, but still failed to advance to the final.