South Korea won gold in the men’s modern pentathlon team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, successfully defending its title.
In the men’s modern pentathlon final, South Korean athletes Jun Woong-tae, Lee Jong-hyeon and Seo Chang-wan scored a combined 4,779 points after competing in five events — fencing, swimming, obstacle course racing and laser run, a combination of running and shooting — at Anjo Sports Park in Anjo, just southeast of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan.
It was South Korea’s second consecutive gold medal in the team event, following its victory at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
In the team event, the scores of each country’s top three athletes in the individual competition are combined to determine the medal standings.
Jun finished second, Lee third, and Seo fifth, earning a total of 4,779 points, outscoring China with 4,768 points and Kazakhstan with 4,647 points.
In the individual event, Jun took silver with 1,595 points, behind Li Liuchang of China with 1,598 points. South Korea’s Lee earned bronze with 1,593 points.
Jun had sought his third consecutive Asiad gold in the individual event, but helped his country defend the team title for the second straight Asian Games.
After fencing, obstacle course racing and swimming, Seo led the laser run from the beginning but fell behind in the middle of the race after suffering a leg cramp.
A few hundred meters from the finish line, Jun put on bursts of speed to cross the finish line second behind Li. Jun entered the final laser run in ninth place after a sluggish performance in the first three events.
Lee closely followed Jun to finish third, while Seo came in fifth despite racing with a cramped leg.
Due to the injury, Seo missed the medal ceremony for the team event, with only Jun and Lee attending.
