"You already cried it all out earlier": The two macho men who roared broke down again when the national anthem played... Tears from the kayak pair who won two gold medals move Nagoya

[Financial News] At the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya, the honor of being the Republic of Korea delegation's first two-time champion was earned not in swimming or shooting, the country's traditional reliable medal-winning sports, but in canoeing, a less popular sport where athletes have quietly paddled through harsh conditions. At the top of the podium, the two macho men clasped hands and roared in celebration. When the national anthem rang out, they finally burst into tears.
The Cho Kwang-hee-Kim Hyo-bin pair, veteran Cho, 32, and rising star Kim, 25, both of Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall, crossed the finish line first in 1:31.859 in the men's kayak double (K2) 500m final at the Canoe sprint competition held on the 25th at Miyoshi Lake Canoe Course in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It was a historic moment, as the Republic of Korea reclaimed gold in the event for the first time in 36 years since the 1990 Beijing Asian Games. It was also the delegation's 11th gold medal.
The two athletes had won the first gold medal in Korean canoeing history in the men's kayak four (K4) 500m the previous day. By reaching the top of Asia for two consecutive days, they became the first two-time champions across the entire Republic of Korea delegation at these Games.

The mixed zone, or shared press area, became a sea of tears immediately after the medal ceremony. When Kim Hyo-bin reddened his eyes again and said, "I was overwhelmed with emotion as I remembered the difficult times we spent preparing together," Cho Kwang-hee comforted his younger teammate, saying, "You already cried it all out earlier. What's wrong?" Cho added with a smile, "I thought the odds of winning two gold medals were an absurdly low probability of less than 10%, but a miracle happened. It took me eight years to win gold in these two events, while Hyo-bin did it at his first competition. I'm almost jealous."
Cho Kwang-hee's two titles are especially meaningful because they came after he overcame severe adversity. He was a dominant force who won the K1 200m at Asian Games Incheon 2014 and the 2018 Jakarta–Palembang Asian Games, but suffered the devastating blow of seeing his main event removed from the official program beginning with the Hangzhou Asian Games. After losing his main event, he switched to team events and, through grueling efforts, won two silver medals in Hangzhou. In Nagoya, he finally changed the color of his medals to gold and proved himself Asia's strongest.
Yet even at the moment of their greatest triumph, the two athletes remained focused on the reality facing the less popular sport of canoeing. Cho Kwang-hee earnestly appealed, saying, "I'm afraid Korean canoeing could enter a dark age when the athletes of our generation retire. Given the lack of grassroots expansion, I sincerely hope the training environment will improve on the occasion of this gold medal." Kim Hyo-bin also vowed, "I hope the public will remember canoeing. At the LA28 Olympics, we will change the color of the medal and turn it into a proud, reliable medal-winning sport."
Two gold medals forged through sweat and blood on waters no one had paid attention to. The two heroes' hot tears are resonating throughout the Republic of Korea's sports community, reaching far beyond Nagoya.
[email protected] Jeon Sang-il Reporter