Asian Record Split by 0.01 Seconds: A Gold Medal Record Achieved in a Track and Field Wasteland

National team athletes, who have worn gold medals in world competitions for the first time in South Korean track and field history, shared their past records and training processes. At the Summer Universiade held in Germany this past July, Seo Min-jun, Namadi Joel-jin, Lee Jae-sung, and Kim Jeong-in led a representative team composed of those born in the 2000s to win the gold medal, writing new history for Korean track and field.

"If we take 1st place, we'll appear on You Quiz on the Block"... A miracle created by a goal

This gold medal is more than just a victory; it brought great joy to the Korean track and field community. The athletes recalled the tension and sense of achievement during the competition. In particular, the coach stated that they shared the tension with the athletes while watching world-class athletes like Usain Bolt warming up at the international competition site. The coach said that to boost the athletes' morale, he presented a goal by saying, "If we take 1st place here, we will become history, and (this program) You Quiz on the Block will be something we can appear on once."

The athletes showed an upward trend, breaking Korean records three times in May of this year alone. Following the breaking of records in the qualifiers and repechages of the World Relays Championships in Guangzhou, they took 1st place in Asia at the Asian Athletics Championships with a record of 38.49 seconds. The 38.50 seconds recorded at this Summer Universiade is a figure that is close to the Asian record by only 0.01 seconds.

Training and diet routines that decide a split second

Due to the nature of track and field events where matches are decided by a 0.01-second difference, the intensity of the athletes' training is very high. The athletes wake up at 6:00 AM to start morning exercise, and after finishing morning training, they undergo high-intensity training in the afternoon, repeating 300m full sprints 8 times. To overcome the physical burden occurring during the training process, the athletes also follow a routine of eating bananas on the day of the competition.

One of the changes enjoyed after becoming national representatives is life at the Jincheon National Training Center. The athletes expressed satisfaction, mentioning the training center's diet, especially the freshly made bread and specific menus. The coach also expressed pride in being able to train in a good environment along with the athletes.

Joel-jin, who balanced acting, and the welcome on the way home

Namadi Joel-jin, one of the main protagonists of this competition, drew attention for his career as an actor in addition to his performance as a track and field athlete. It is known that Joel-jin has experience performing acting after breaking through a 500-to-1 competition rate at an audition for the drama 'Descendants of the Sun' in the past.

Special moments continued even on the way home after winning the gold medal. On the flight back to the country, Joel-jin received a warm welcome, such as being confirmed as an athlete by passengers and receiving requests for photos and autographs, and immediately after returning, he realized the status of this gold medal by receiving hundreds of congratulatory messages.