South Korea’s men’s 4x100m relay team raced to gold at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Summer World University Games, securing a landmark victory for the nation’s athletics program.

The team, comprising Seo Min-jun, Namadi Joeljin, Lee Jae-sung, and Kim Jung-yoon running in that order, finished the finals at Bochum’s Lohrheidestadion in Germany on the 27th (Korean time) with a time of 38.50 seconds.

Korea crossed the finish line ahead of South Africa (38.80) and India (38.89) to claim the top spot on the podium.

Their 38.50-second finish narrowly missed the Korean national record of 38.49 set at the Asian Championships in Gumi on May 31 by just 0.01 seconds.

At the Asian Championships, Seo Min-jun, Namadi Joeljin, Lee Jae-sung, and Lee Jun-hyuk set the national record and won gold, while in this Universiade final, Kim Jung-yoon replaced Lee Jun-hyuk as the team’s anchor.

This result is particularly significant as it marks the very first gold medal for South Korea not only in the men's 4x100m relay at Universiade, but in all relay events at the competition.

Previously, Korean athletes such as Lee Kyu-hyung, Ko Seung-hwan, Mo Il-hwan, and Park Si-young secured a bronze in the men’s relay at the 2019 Naples Universiade, but the gold had remained elusive — until now.

South Korea’s track and field program is celebrating its first Universiade gold since Kim Duk-hyun’s long jump win at the 2009 Belgrade Games, ending a 16-year gold medal drought.

Lee Jae-sung, who also took home a bronze in the men’s 200m at this Universiade, expressed his excitement, saying, "I am delighted to win the first gold in the relay event as our final achievement here."

Note “This article was translated from the original Korean version using AI assistance, and subsequently edited by a native-speaking journalist.”

Photo=Yonhap News, Official Rhine-Ruhr Summer Universiade Website, Korea Association of Athletics Federations