NAGOYA, Japan — A remarkable father-daughter chapter in South Korean gymnastics has been written at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
South Korean gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong captured the women’s vault gold on Thursday, eight years after winning the same event at the 2018 Asian Games.
Her latest victory did more than add another gold medal to her résumé.
It put her alongside her father, Yeo Hong-chul, as a two-time Asian Games vault champion.
Yeo Seo-jeong Reclaims the Asian Games Vault Crown
Yeo Seo-jeong scored 14.483 points in the women’s vault final at Nagoya General Gymnasium, finishing ahead of North Korea’s An Chang-ok, who took silver with 13.666 points.
China’s Du Siyu claimed bronze with 13.450.
The victory also delivered South Korea’s first gymnastics medal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
For Yeo, the result marked a return to the top of the Asian Games podium eight years after her breakthrough victory in Jakarta-Palembang.
She was only 16 years old when she won her first Asian Games vault gold in 2018.
Now 24, she has repeated the feat on a much bigger stage in Nagoya.
A Family Record Recreated Across Generations
The emotional significance of the victory goes beyond Yeo Seo-jeong’s own career.
Her father, Yeo Hong-chul, won consecutive Asian Games men’s vault titles in 1994 and 1998.
His daughter has now matched that two-title record in the women’s event.
The father also won Olympic silver in the men’s vault at the 1996 Atlanta Games, while Yeo Seo-jeong became the first South Korean woman artistic gymnast to win an Olympic medal when she claimed vault bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Now I can stand alongside my father,” Yeo Seo-jeong said after her victory, describing how meaningful it was to follow the same path in gymnastics.
The Comeback Makes the Gold Even More Significant
The latest title came after a difficult period in Yeo Seo-jeong’s career.
She suffered a shoulder injury during the 2024 Paris Olympics and later underwent surgery after an Achilles tendon injury.
Those setbacks interrupted her competitive schedule, but she returned to international competition in 2026.
Her comeback gained momentum when she won vault gold at the Asian Championships in June.
She then arrived at the Asian Games as the top qualifier and converted that form into another major title.
A Calculated Decision in the Final
Yeo entered the final with a signature 5.8-difficulty vault available to her.
But she chose a lower-difficulty routine instead, prioritizing execution and reducing the risk of a costly mistake.
The strategy paid off.
Her score of 14.483 was enough to put her clearly ahead of the field and secure her second Asian Games vault championship.
From a Famous Gymnast’s Daughter to a Champion in Her Own Right
For years, Yeo Seo-jeong has carried the name of one of South Korea’s most celebrated gymnasts.
Her father’s accomplishments created a remarkable family benchmark.
But the Nagoya victory gives the younger Yeo a new place in that story.
She is now a two-time Asian Games champion herself, an Olympic medalist and the first South Korean woman to win two Asian Games gold medals in artistic gymnastics.
The image of father and daughter sharing the same Asian Games achievement is one of the defining stories of South Korea’s gymnastics campaign in Nagoya.
And after overcoming injuries to reclaim the Asian title, Yeo Seo-jeong has added another golden chapter to a family legacy that began decades ago.
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