Heo Mimi vows to lay gold medal at grandmother's grave after Asian Games triumph

South Korea's top women's judoka Heo Mimi said she will bring her Asian Games gold medal to her late grandmother's grave.

Heo, 23, claimed gold in the women's 57-kilogram category at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, defeating Mongolia's Terbish Ariunzaya by a yuko score in the final.

Born in 2002 in Hachioji, Tokyo, to a Korean father and a Japanese mother, Heo grew up in Japan and competed as a Japanese athlete before making a life-defining decision in 2021. Honoring her grandmother's dying wish — that she wanted to see Heo compete as a Korean athlete — she chose South Korean citizenship over Japanese.

Heo drew further public attention when it emerged that she is a fifth-generation descendant of independence activist Heo Seok, who was imprisoned during the Japanese colonial era for posting anti-Japanese proclamations. The story of a descendant of a Korean independence fighter, born and raised in Japan, competing on the international stage under the South Korean flag drew wide national support.

Her results have matched the narrative. After building experience across international competitions, Heo won the women's 57-kilogram title at the 2024 International Judo Federation World Championships — the first South Korean woman to win the world title in 29 years.

Later that year at the Paris Olympics, she advanced to the final but had to settle for silver after losing to Christa Deguchi of Canada.

After claiming gold at these Asian Games, Heo said she was overjoyed. "It has been so hard until now, so I am truly happy to have achieved such a great result," she said.

After the match, she turned her thoughts to her parents. "I plan to call them soon. I want to tell them I came in first. I'll go show them the gold medal when I'm on leave," she said.

Before the tournament, she had pledged to bring a medal to her grandmother's grave.

"I am grateful to my grandmother. I will offer this gold medal at her grave," Heo said. "I find myself thinking that if it weren't for her words, I might never have come to Korea and taken up judo."

Asked about her next goal, she said, "Of course, it's an Olympic gold medal. And I believe we can win gold in the mixed team event at this tournament as well."