Korea going for Asiad gold medal sweep in modern pentathlon

This photo, provided by the Korea Modern Pentathlon Federation, shows Kim Sun-woo, left, and Jun Woong-tae of Korea celebrating after winning the gold medal in the mixed relay event at the Pentathlon World Cup Final in Ankara, June 5. Yonhap

With its athletes fully prepared mentally and physically, Korea will set out to sweep up the four gold medals at stake in modern pentathlon at this year's Asian Games in China.

"Our athletes are so well prepared, both physically and mentally, that they could compete if the Asian Games were held today," national team head coach Choi Eun-jong said at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. "Our goal is to win all four gold medals in the men's and women's individual and team events."

The Asian Games in Hangzhou will open on Sept. 23, but modern pentathlon will begin with the women's and men's fencing ranking rounds on Sept. 20. All finals are scheduled for Sept. 24.

Modern pentathlon made its Asian Games debut in 1994. Korea leads the all-time medal table with 23 medals, including the continental-best eight gold medals.

At the previous Asian Games in 2018, Jun Woong-tae and Lee Ji-hun grabbed gold and silver, respectively, in the men's individual event. On the women's side, Kim Se-hee and Kim Sun-woo won silver and bronze, respectively.

For Hangzhou, the team events will make their return, putting four gold medals on the line.

The athletes at the presser said their biggest competition may well come from their teammates.

This photo, provided by the Korea Modern Pentathlon Federation, shows Seong Seung-min of Korea competing in the women's individual event at the Pentathlon World Cup in Sofia, May 14. Yonhap

"Everyone here is capable of winning the gold medal," said Jun, who also won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 for Korea's first Olympic medal in modern pentathlon. "It'd be great to get into some friendly competition with each other, but my goal is to win two gold medals."

Jung Jin-hwa, the senior member of the men's team at 34 and the 2014 Asian Games silver medalist, said he won't take it easy on his teammates in Hangzhou.

"I learn so much from these guys when we train together, but in competitions, I have to be cold-blooded," Jung said. "I want to beat them on my way to the top."

Lee, the reigning men's silver medalist, chimed in, "I think it will come down to who has the best focus on the day of the competition, and I will try to have just that."

Seo Chang-wan, 26, will be the only member of the men's team who has never been to an Asian Games before, but he is also the highest-ranked Korean modern pentathlete today at No. 5, one spot ahead of Jun.

"All of my teammates have won a medal at the Asian Games, and I will try to join them this time," Seo said.

Kim Sun-woo said the one-year postponement of the Asian Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic could work in Korea's favor.

"Over the past year, my young teammates have improved so much, and we expect to win gold in the team event," said Kim, 26. "And I will also do my best in the individual event."

This photo, provided by the Korea Modern Pentathlon Federation, shows Seo Chang-wan, left, and Kim Sun-woo, right, of Korea celebrating with their coach Kim Sung-jin after winning the gold medal in the mixed relay event at the Pentathlon World Cup in Budapest, May 1. Yonhap

National team coach Kim Sung-jin said the athletes have been putting in long hours in training despite the unforgiving heat wave of late. They work on each discipline of modern pentathlon ― running, shooting, swimming, fencing and equestrian show jumping ― from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and then do individual workouts in the evening hours.

"They have been coming along nicely, with no injuries to report," Kim said. "We will try to grab Olympic spots at the world championships (later this month) and then ride that momentum to the Asian Games." (Yonhap)