(Asiad) Swimmers lament decision not to award medals to relay heat participants

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TOKYO, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- By taking bronze in the men's 200-meter butterfly at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, South Korean swimmer Kim Min-seop won his third medal of the competition -- but his first physical medal.

While discussing his performance with the media, Kim said he had learned that he would not receive medals for participating in the heats for the men's 4x100m freestyle relay and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. South Korea won silver and bronze in those races, respectively. Kim, who only took part in the heats for both, will still go into the record books as a medalist for both events but will not have physical medals as proof.

Kim Seung-won, Park Si-eun, An Se-hyeon and Hur Yeon-kyung of South Korea (from L to R) pose on the podium after winning bronze in the women's 4x100-meter medley relay swimming event at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on Sept. 25, 2026. (Yonhap)

"I was a little bummed out that I was not going to receive medals for those relays," Kim said. "At least I got this medal here today, and I can show it to my parents."

An official with the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF) confirmed that the organizers of the Asiad had decided not to present medals to those who only compete in the heats for relays and to give them certificates instead. It represents a departure from a long-held tradition in international swimming and apparently part of the organizers' effort to save costs at an event already criticized for penny-pinching ways.

"No medals will be awarded for the preliminary heats. Certificates will be provided digitally and sent to each team leader after the competition," a note provided to swimmers read. "Therefore, no additional physical medals or certificates will be distributed at the venue."

This photo, provided by the Korea Swimming Federation on Sept. 25, 2026, shows a note to swimmers competing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, informing them that those who only participate in relay heats will not receive medals. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Teams often rest their top relay swimmers for the finals held in the evening and rely on preliminary swimmers to get through the morning heat sessions.

An Se-hyeon, who won bronze in the women's 4x100m medley relay Friday but only swam in the final, said it was a shame that preliminary swimmers were not being recognized.

"We were able to win such a precious bronze medal here tonight thanks to my teammates who competed in the heats," the 30-year-old An said. "I have never seen anything like this before. We have all worked hard for the same goal, and having only the final swimmers get medals is not fair."

The organizing committee had not responded to Yonhap News Agency's request for comment on the matter as of this writing.

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Visiting family members' graves

(Asiad) Swimmers lament decision not to award medals to relay heat participants

这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

东京，9月26日（韩联社）——韩国游泳运动员金珉燮周五在爱知-名古屋亚运会男子200米蝶泳比赛中获得铜牌，这是他在本届比赛中获得的第三枚奖牌，但却是他的第一枚实物奖牌。

在接受媒体采访时，金表示他得知自己将无法获得男子4x100米自由泳接力和男子4x200米自由泳接力预赛的奖牌。韩国队分别在这两个项目中获得了银牌和铜牌。金虽然只参加了这两个项目的预赛，但仍将作为奖牌获得者载入史册，只是没有实物奖牌作为证明。

2026年9月25日，在东京亚运会游泳中心举行的女子4×100米混合泳接力赛中获得铜牌后，韩国选手金承元、朴诗恩、安世贤和许妍京（从左至右）在领奖台上合影。（韩联社）

“我有点沮丧，因为我没能在那些接力赛中获得奖牌，”金说。“至少我今天拿到了这枚奖牌，我可以把它拿给我的父母看。”

韩国游泳协会（KSF）一位官员证实，亚运会组委会决定不向仅参加接力赛预赛的选手颁发奖牌，而是颁发证书。这打破了国际游泳界长期以来的传统，显然是组委会为节省成本而采取的措施之一，而亚运会此前就因吝啬的开支而饱受诟病。

“预赛不颁发奖牌。证书将以电子版形式发放，并在比赛结束后发送给各队领队，”发给游泳运动员的通知中写道。“因此，比赛现场将不再发放任何实体奖牌或证书。”

这张照片由韩国游泳协会于2026年9月25日提供，照片显示，参加爱知-名古屋亚运会的游泳运动员收到一份通知，告知他们只参加接力赛的运动员将无法获得奖牌。（照片禁止出售）（韩联社）

各队通常会让最优秀的接力游泳运动员在晚上举行的决赛中休息，而依靠预赛选手来通过上午的预赛。

周五在女子 4x100 米混合泳接力赛中获得铜牌但只参加了决赛的安世贤表示，初赛选手没有得到认可，这很可惜。

“今晚我们能够赢得这枚宝贵的铜牌，要感谢参加预赛的队友们，”30岁的安说道。“我从未见过这样的情况。我们都为了同一个目标而努力，只有决赛选手才能获得奖牌，这太不公平了。”

截至发稿时，组委会尚未回复韩联社对此事的置评请求。

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