The closing ceremony of the 2026 Daegu World Masters Athletics Championships. [Daegu city government]
The closing ceremony of the 2026 Daegu World Masters Athletics Championships. [Daegu city government]

The 2026 Daegu World Masters Athletics Championships closed Thursday.

According to Daegu city, the oldest competitor at the games — 106-year-old Thai athlete Sawang Janpram — set two world records, throwing 7.59 meters in the men's 105-and-over discus and 10.04 meters in the javelin.

American Kenton Brown clocked 14.16 seconds in the men's 80–84 100 meters, and British athlete B. John Wright ran 12.03 seconds in the men's 65–69 100 meters, both setting world records.

World records also fell in the women's 70–74 80-meter hurdles, where Thailand's Somsanga Bunnok finished in 15.61 seconds, and in the men's 65–69 2,000-meter steeplechase, where American Richard Lee clocked 7 minutes 9.29 seconds.

South Korean athletes also turned in strong performances. Kim Cheol-gyun won gold in the men's 55–59 pole vault, Park Jae-myeong in the men's 40–45 javelin and Ham Yeon-sik in the men's 45–49 5,000 meters.

In the half marathon, Ham Yeon-ju took gold in the women's 35–39 division and Lee Gwang-ryul in the men's 65–69 division. Lee set a meet record with a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 14 seconds.

Shin Haeng-cheol swept five gold medals — in the men's 70–74 800 meters, 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters on the track, and in the 10-kilometer and half-marathon road races — and also claimed a silver in the 6-kilometer cross country.

The championships produced 17 world records and 50 meet records in total. South Korean athletes won 74 medals over the course of the competition. By country, the United States led with 226 medals, followed by Australia with 172 and Japan with 158.

Athletes and their families also took in Daegu's tourism, shopping and food scene throughout the event.

A tourism program offering guided visits to major Daegu attractions along with shopping and dining at Dongseong-ro and Seomun Market drew a cumulative 675 bookings from overseas participants.

Free transit cards provided to international participants logged more than 50,000 uses in total.

At Kala Square and the West Plaza, visitors enjoyed a range of cultural programs including hanbok, traditional medicine and beauty experiences, as well as busking performances and traditional Korean music.

Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho expressed his gratitude to all who made the event a success. "I sincerely thank the world masters athletics family who lit up Daegu for 13 days, as well as the World Masters Athletics officials, referees and volunteers who worked so hard," he said. "I hope the challenges and friendships you shared in Daegu will remain cherished memories for a long time, and we will always welcome you back with open arms."


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com