Choi Ji-woon, 15, wins Asian Games youth sailing gold in late comeback
In short
Choi Ji-woon, 15, won gold in the boys' youth dinghy at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Gamagori, Japan, finishing the 12-race series with 25 points. He was fourth overall going into the final two races on 3 October, then finished first and second to move to the top. Outlets described it as South Korea's first Asian Games youth sailing gold in 12 years, after Park Sung-bin at Incheon 2014.
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Choi Ji-woon, 15, a middle-school member of South Korea's national sailing team, won gold in the boys' youth dinghy at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on 3 October. He finished the 12-race series with 25 points, according to Hankook Ilbo and Asia Economy. Both outlets reported that it is South Korea's first Asian Games gold in a youth sailing event in 12 years, after Park Sung-bin won the U-16 Optimist title at Incheon 2014. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
All three outlets described the win as a comeback. Choi was fourth overall going into the final two races, then finished first in race 11 and second in race 12 to move up the standings, they reported. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Asia Economy reported that Choi tied on 25 points with Ko Ian of Singapore and took gold under the tie-break rule, which compares a sailor's best results and favoured Choi because he had more higher-place finishes. Hong Kong's Ching de Villmore Salgado Tiago was third with 27 points, the outlet said. Sailing awards one point for first place, two for second and so on, with the lowest total winning and the two worst races dropped from the final total. [ 3 ]
Choi had won races 2 and 4 early in the event and stayed near the top, but slipped to fourth overall after races 8 to 10 on 2 October as rivals closed in, Asia Economy reported. The final two races on the morning of 3 October were delayed because there was not enough wind to sail; had they been cancelled, his fourth place after 10 races would have stood and he would have finished without a medal, the outlet said. [ 3 ]
Hankook Ilbo reported that Choi's gold was South Korea's 34th of the Games, and its second in sailing after Ha Ji-min won the men's dinghy the previous day. [ 2 ]
Asia Economy noted that youth events have been included in Asian Games sailing to develop talent across Asia and bring on young sailors, and were expanded again at the Aichi-Nagoya Games after being trimmed as the programme shifted toward senior Olympic classes. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The win gives South Korea its first Asian Games youth sailing gold in 12 years, and Hankook Ilbo reported it was the country's second sailing gold of these Games. Asia Economy placed the result in the context of an expanded youth sailing programme at Aichi-Nagoya, which outlets present as a development pathway for young sailors. For readers outside Korea it is a youth-category result at a regional multi-sport event.
Key facts
- Choi Ji-woon, 15, won gold in the boys' youth dinghy at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on 3 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He finished the 12 races with a total of 25 points. [ 2 , 3 ]
- He was fourth overall before the final two races and finished first in race 11 and second in race 12. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He is South Korea's first Asian Games youth sailing gold medallist in 12 years, after Park Sung-bin's U-16 Optimist title at Incheon 2014. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Under sailing's scoring, one point is awarded for first place and two for second, with the lowest total winning and the two worst races dropped. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Choi is a middle-school student, described by Asia Economy as a prospect for South Korea's sailing team. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The final two races were delayed on the morning of 3 October because there was not enough wind; had they been cancelled, Choi would have finished fourth with no medal. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Choi Ji-woon won the boys' youth dinghy gold at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Gamagori yacht harbour in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on 3 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- He finished the 12-race series with 25 points. [ 2 , 3 ]
- He was fourth overall before the final two races and took first and second place in them. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- It is South Korea's first Asian Games gold in a youth sailing event in 12 years, after Park Sung-bin won the U-16 Optimist title at Incheon 2014. [ 2 , 3 ]
- In sailing, the lowest points total wins and the two worst race results are excluded from the final total. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Choi tied on 25 points with Singapore's Ko Ian and won gold on the tie-break, which compares the best results, while Hong Kong's Ching de Villmore Salgado Tiago finished third with 27 points. These details appear only in Asia Economy; the other two documents do not mention a tie or the other medallists.
- Choi's gold was South Korea's 34th of the Games. Reported only by Hankook Ilbo; no other document gives a medal count.
- Korea's second sailing gold of the Games, after Ha Ji-min won the men's dinghy the previous day. Reported only by Hankook Ilbo.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Seoul Shinmun reports Choi Ji-woon's gold medal and his late reversal in the youth dinghy. [ 1 ]
- Hankook Ilbo reports his 25-point total, the 12-year gap since Korea's last youth sailing gold and the national medal count. [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy reports the tie-break with Singapore's Ko Ian, both on 25 points, and the wind delay before the final races. [ 3 ]