"Conquering Asia with Her Father's Skill": Yeo Seo-jeong Wins Vault Gold in Stunning Feat, Defeating North Korea's An Chang-ok [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] A triumphant flight that completely erased the disappointment of missing Hangzhou,
It was a dazzling flight and a flawless landing. Yeo Seo-jeong (24, Jecheon City Hall), the 'vault queen,' colored Asia's skies gold once again after eight years of waiting. Having soared with a skill named after her father and reclaimed the top spot on the podium, she made a spectacular return that sparked an enthusiastic celebration in Nagoya, Japan.
Yeo Seo-jeong won the women's vault final in artistic gymnastics at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 24th at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, with an overwhelming average of 14.483 points across her two vaults. It was an 'another level' victory, as she finished well ahead of North Korea's An Chang-ok (13.666), who took silver, and China's Du Siyu (13.450), who won bronze.

Yeo Seo-jeong reclaimed the Asian Games title eight years after the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. At the 2022 Asian Games, the previous edition, she had to miss the competition because its schedule overlapped with the world championships, where qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics (Paris 2024) was at stake. She completely erased that disappointment on the Nagoya stage. This was also South Korea's 10th gold medal of the Games and the gymnastics team's first medal, adding even greater significance to her achievement.
The final was essentially Yeo Seo-jeong's solo show. After easily qualifying first in the preliminaries, she made her move from the very first vault. She perfectly executed the high-difficulty 'Yeo 2,' a vault created by her father, Yeo Hong-chul, executive director of the Korea Gymnastics Association, with a difficulty rating of 5.4 points. The skill involves pushing off the vaulting table and completing two and a half twists in the air before landing. Combined with a clean execution score of 9.066, it earned her 14.466 points and gave her complete control from the outset.
For her second vault, she lowered the difficulty to 5.0 and focused on execution, recording 14.100 points. She displayed overwhelming strength as the only competitor to break the 14-point mark. By contrast, North Korea's ace An Chang-ok, who won gold at the 2022 Asian Games in Yeo Seo-jeong's absence, received a 0.3-point deduction after her left leg stepped outside the mat during the landing. She was unable to challenge Yeo Seo-jeong.

This gold medal established another great milestone in the history of Korean gymnastics. Following her father Yeo Hong-chul, who won back-to-back vault titles at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games and the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games, Yeo Seo-jeong also collected two Asian Games gold medals. The 'great gymnastics father-daughter duo,' who both won medals on the Olympic stage, now share the distinction of being two-time Asian Games champions. Together, they have become an unprecedented legend in South Korean sports history.
On the first day of the Chuseok holiday, Yeo Seo-jeong gave the public the best gift with a thrilling golden landing. Her toes are now aiming beyond Asia, once again toward the highest point on the world stage.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter