Seo Chae-hyun declares challenge for Olympic medal after Asian Games gold medal

At a press conference held at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Korea House in Nagoya, Japan on the 4th, Seo Chae-hyun said, "I thought it wouldn't be easy because I've lost more times to Mori Ai (Japan) than I've beaten," but added, "(But) after playing this tournament, I felt like there was no opponent I couldn't beat."

Seo Chae-hyun was the only one among the eight participants to receive TOP in the women's lead final held at the Port Messe Exhibition Center in Nagoya the previous day, beating her rival Mori to the top.

With this, he won the gold medal in Korean sport climbing for the first time in eight years since Chun Jong-won, winner of the men's combined event at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games.

This is the second time for a Korean player and the first for a female player.

Korean sport climbing has yet to win an Olympic medal. Seo Chae-hyun made it to the finals in both the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris competitions, but only ranked 8th and 6th, respectively.

At the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics, bouldering, lead, and speed will each be held as independent events, so Seo Chae-hyun can also challenge for a medal in lead, the main event.

He expected, “If we find and prepare for improvement points more meticulously like we do now, I think the odds of a medal will increase as the lead is separated at the Olympics.”

Seo Chae-hyun suffered a thumb injury while preparing for the competition and had difficulty training. Even during the competition, I taped my body until I warmed up and only did so during the game.

He confessed, “It wasn’t easy psychologically to play while injured,” and “I was exhausted mentally and physically while playing for four days.”

Seo Chae-hyun also expressed her disappointment at the Hangzhou Games, where she received a silver medal because the finals were canceled due to heavy rain.

He said, “I felt a lot of resentment at the time, but I quickly forgot about it.” He added, “I thought it was a good opportunity to win two medals since the events were separated this time, so I focused only on this competition.”

In this competition, Seo Chae-hyun and Lee Do-hyun each won two medals, giving them a green light to challenge for an Olympic medal.

Sports climbing team coach Park Hee-yong, who also attended the press conference, pointed out the growth of the United States and the strength of Europe, while also expecting Korea's competitiveness to increase at the LA Games, where bouldering and lead are held as independent events.

He said, "I advanced to the finals in Tokyo and Paris, but had difficulty winning a medal," but pledged, "In LA, the main events were separated, so my competitiveness improved. I will work hard to win a medal, thinking that it is my destiny to win a medal in LA."