Appeal reverses ruling that baton exchange occurred outside the exchange zone

South Korean athletes look bewildered after being disqualified from the men's 400m relay at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]
South Korean athletes look bewildered after being disqualified from the men's 400m relay at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

South Korea's men's 400m relay team secured a spot in the final after overturning a disqualification ruling.

The team of Kim Si-on (Armed Forces Athletic Corps), Namadi Joel-jin (Yecheon-gun Office), Lee Jae-sung (Gwangju City Hall) and Biwesa Daniel Gasama (Ansan City Hall) finished fourth among six teams in Heat 2 of the men's 400m relay preliminary round at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya on Sunday, clocking 39.33 seconds.

That time placed them seventh overall, seemingly enough to claim one of the eight final berths. But after the race, officials disqualified South Korea for violating rule TF 24.7 — a ruling that the baton had been passed outside the exchange zone.

The infraction was judged to have occurred during the handoff from first-leg runner Kim to second-leg runner Joel-jin, with officials determining that the baton exchange had strayed beyond the designated zone.

The team immediately filed an appeal. Head coach Ha Gyeong-su told Yonhap on Monday that the team submitted all available video footage right after the ruling and argued the disqualification was unwarranted. "We appealed immediately, submitting all the footage we had, and the organizers accepted our argument," Ha said.

With the disqualification overturned, South Korea's time of 39.33 seconds was reinstated and their place in the final confirmed.

"We were confident we shouldn't have been disqualified, but appeals rarely succeed at major international competitions like the Olympics or Asian Games, so we weren't very hopeful," Ha said. "We're relieved it worked out."

South Korea's reinstatement means nine teams will now compete in the final. Singapore, which had claimed the last final spot following South Korea's disqualification, also retained its place.

South Korea set a national record of 38.49 seconds at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi in May last year, with Joel-jin, Seo Min-jun, Lee Jae-sung and Lee Jun-hyeok winning gold in the men's 400m relay. The squad has been further strengthened for this meet, with Biwesa — who finished fifth in the men's 100m — joining the lineup, while Joel-jin also placed fourth in the 100m.

South Korea won bronze in the men's 400m relay at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, held in 2023, its first medal in the event since the 1986 Seoul Games — a gap of 37 years. The team will chase another medal in the final at the same venue at 10:33 p.m. Monday.


yjc@heraldcorp.com