Seventeen-year-old Hwang Seo-hyun of Incheon High School achieved a stunning gold medal victory in her first Asian Games appearance, marking the first time a South Korean gymnast has topped the women's balance beam event in 40 years.
Hwang scored 14.700 points in the women's balance beam final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at Rainbow Hall in Nagoya, Japan, on September 25.
Competing seventh among eight finalists, Hwang prepared the most difficult routine of the event. Her difficulty score of 6.600 surpassed those of her competitors, China's Zhu Chi-yuan (6.500) and Japan's Okamura Mana (6.400).
Hwang executed her routine with stability, successfully connecting her aerial elements, and added an execution score of 8.100 to achieve her final score of 14.700.
Zhu earned the silver medal with a score of 14.566, while Okamura took home the bronze with 14.300.
This gold medal marks the first for South Korean gymnastics in the women's balance beam since Seo Sun-ae's victory at the 1986 Seoul Games.
Hwang has already proven her competitiveness on the international stage, having won a gold medal in the balance beam at last year's Asian Championships and a bronze in the same event this year.
With Hwang's gold, South Korea's gymnastics team has secured its second gold medal at this event. The day before, Yeo Seo-jeong won gold in the women's vault, contributing to the South Korean delegation's total of 12 gold medals at the Games.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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