[Nagoya AG] 17-Year-Old Hwang Seohyun Claims Asian Games Balance Beam Gold... Korea's First Title in 40 Years

Scores 14.700 in Final to Beat Chinese Competitor
Strikes Gold with Dazzling Debut at Asian Games
Fifth Gold Medal in Korean Women’s Artistic Gymnastics History

The youngest member of the Korean women’s artistic gymnastics team, Hwang Seohyun (17, Incheon Physical Education High School), won a gold medal at her first-ever Asian Games.

Hwang Seohyun won the women's balance beam competition in artistic gymnastics. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News.

On September 25, at the Rainbow Hall of the Nagoya Civic General Gymnasium in Japan, Hwang Seohyun scored 14.700 points to take first place out of eight competitors in the women’s balance beam final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Zhu Qiyuan of China won the silver medal with 14.566 points, and Mana Okamura of Japan took the bronze with 14.300 points.

Having finished the preliminary round in fifth place, Hwang Seohyun delivered the most difficult routine among the finalists with remarkable consistency, surpassing Zhu Qiyuan by 0.134 points.

This is Korea’s first gold medal in the women’s artistic gymnastics balance beam at the Asian Games in 40 years, since Seo Seon-aeng’s victory at the 1986 Seoul Games. Hwang Seohyun’s gold is also the fifth-ever Asian Games gold medal in Korean women’s artistic gymnastics history.

Born in 2009, Hwang Seohyun claimed victory on the balance beam at both the Jecheon Asian Championships and the National Sports Festival last year, and she took bronze at this year’s Asian Championships in Zunyi. After passing the national team selection trials last May, she reached the top of the podium at her debut Asian Games.

Following the team all-around final on September 23, Hwang Seohyun promised, “I’ll give it my all so I can leave without regrets,” and just two days later, she delivered Korea’s second gold medal in artistic gymnastics at this year’s Games.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.