October 04, 2023, 02:17 AM
A South Korean roller-skater who celebrated his victory before crossing the finish line cost his team the first place at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The South Korean team lost the gold medal to the Taiwanese in the men's speed skating 3,000m relay final by a mere 0.01 seconds on Oct. 2.
Lost by just 0.01 seconds
The team — consisting of Choi In-ho, Choi Gwang-ho and Jung Cheol-won — was initially in the lead, but Jung, the last roller-skater in the relay, did not maintain his full speed till the end.
Jung was spotted punching his fists in the air as he approached the finish line.
In contrast, Taiwan's Huang Yu-Lin gave his all and extended his leg out, managing to pip Jung at the finish line.
As the timings were so close, the South Korean team initially thought they won and even got ready to hold their national flag up.
However, they were later disappointed by the results shown on the scoreboard.
Team South Korea clocked a timing of 4:05.702 while Team Chinese Taipei finished at 4:05.692.
Video from Forberge/X.
South Korean skater lost gold medal and military service exemption
Huang said that he thought Jung would have let his guard down as there was only 10m left to the finish line, and so he just "went for the line without a second thought", Focus Taiwan reported.
After the medal ceremony, Jung admitted that he had made "a huge mistake" and he is "really sorry" to his team and their fans, Yonhap News Agency reported.
In South Korea, gold medalists at the Asian Games can be exempted from the 18-month military service, which is compulsory for all able-bodied men by the age of 28.
As a result, 27-year-old Jung and 23-year-old Choi missed out on an exemption.
The loss suffered by the South Korean roller skaters has elicited comments from online users such as:
"Congratulations to the ROK Army on the acquisition of one of our newest recruits, Absolute Loyalty."
"This idiot dragged his teammate with him to the military. Wow."
That said, Choi can still qualify for an exemption should he win a gold medal in the next Asian Games in 2026.
You can watch the final lap of the race here:
Top image from Foberge/X
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