Korea take bronze in 4x100 relay for first medal finish since 1986

The Korean mens 4x100 meters relay team celebrate after finishing third in the sprint relay event at the HOC Stadium in Hangzhou, China on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Korea took bronze in the men’s 4x100 meters relay at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Tuesday, medaling in the sprint event for the first time since the 1986 Games.

Korea’s Lee Jeong-tae, Kim Ku-kyoung, Lee Jae-seong and Ko Seung-hwan combined to set a new national record at 38.74 seconds, outpacing Thailand by 0.07 seconds to take third place in the race.

Flying high

Korea got off to a fast start, with a 0.140 reaction time that put them as one of the fastest movers after starting gun, beaten only by China’s 0.138.

Asian Games record holders China finished first in 38.29 seconds, with Japan taking silver in 38.44 seconds.

It was an exceptionally fast race at this year’s Games, with Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia all setting new national records in the process. Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia finished in fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively after competing with Korea for the No. 3 spot on the final sprint.

Tuesday’s bronze medal is a huge result for the Korean athletics team, which has typically underperformed in all running races compared to other major Asian medal winners.

At the 2018 Asian Games, Korea failed to medal in any men’s running event, taking a single gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles and a bronze in the women’s marathon. The results were similar in 2014, where Korea saw three men’s medals and no women’s medals, and in 2010, when Korea won two men’s medals and one women’s medal.

China and Japan, meanwhile, who have long been Korea’s biggest rivals on the medal table, saw 10 and eight medals respectively in 2018 alone.

The men’s 4x100 meters relay medal was Korea’s only athletics medal on Tuesday. Athletics events will continue at the HOC Stadium in Hangzhou, China through Saturday. The men’s high jump, where Korean Diamond League champion Woo Sang-hyeon is a medal favorite, will be held on Wednesday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]