Korea win record four gold medals at modern pentathlon championship

The results in China are a bright sign for Korea's modern pentathletes ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Korea's Seong Seung-min, center, poses for a photo after winning a gold medal in the women's individual event at the World Modern Pentathlon Championships in China on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Korea won a record four gold medals at the World Modern Pentathlon Championships that ended in China on Sunday, achieving the best result in the annual tournament ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Team Korea secured four golds, two silvers and one bronze, surpassing the previous record in 2022 when the country claimed two golds, one silver and one bronze.

Korea swept the women’s and men’s relay gold medals, with Seong Seung-min and Kim Sun-woo winning the women’s events and Jun Woong-tae and Seo Chang-wan taking the men’s titles.

Seong also won gold in the individual event, becoming the first Korean female modern pentathlete to do so at the world championships.

"It's a huge honor to win my first individual gold medal in my third world championship appearance," Seong was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. "I am proud of myself. I think I can take some positive feelings into the Olympics."

She added a silver after winning the women’s team event alongside Jang Ha-eun and Kim.

Over in the men’s events, Jun added two more medals by winning a bronze medal in the individual event and silver in the team event alongside Kim Soeng-jin and Seo.

Jun’s remarkable performance is a bright sign ahead of his quest to secure his second straight Olympic medal, having won Korea’s first Olympic medal in modern pentathlon in Tokyo in 2021.

The Paris Olympics begin on July 26, with modern pentathlon running from Aug. 8 to 11.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]