The South Korean athletics team dominated the men's 400m relay, bringing home the country's first gold medal on the world stage. In this context, the performance of Namadi Joel Jin, who grew from a child actor in 'Descendants of the Sun' to a national representative, is drawing attention.
On the 27th, at the '2025 Rhine-Ruhr Summer Universiade' held in Germany, the South Korean team won the gold medal with a record of 38.50 seconds in the men's 400m relay. This is the first time Korea has won a relay event at a global comprehensive competition.
The gold medalists are Seo Min-jun (Seocheon County Office), Namadi Joel Jin (Yecheon County Office), Lee Jae-sung (Gwangju Metropolitan City Office), and Kim Jeong-yun (Korea National Sport University).
The team, which advanced to the finals in 7th place (39.14 seconds), executed a flawless relay without any mistakes, pulling off a thrilling comeback against South Africa by a margin of 0.3 seconds.
Among them, Namadi Joel Jin is attracting attention. He appeared as a child actor in the KBS2 drama 'Descendants of the Sun,' which gained a syndrome-level popularity in 2016.
Namadi Joel Jin left a deep impression on viewers as the Urk boy who received shoes from the doctor Chi-hoon (played by Onyu) and said, "Instead of this, buy me a goat. I want to raise a goat." The scene where Chi-hoon replied, "I'm glad to meet you too. I will miss you a lot. Don't think about repaying me, just think about yourself," is often cited as a representative memorable scene from the drama.
Namadi Joel Jin was born to a Korean mother and a Nigerian father who was a long jumper. He was introduced to athletics while participating in a sports event during his 5th grade in elementary school. He has steadily grown and recorded 10.30 seconds in the 100m in 2024, breaking the Korean high school record.
He has since swept various medals, including the gold medal in the men's under-18 100m and 400m at the 105th National Sports Festival, the gold medal in the men's high school 100m and 200m at the 104th National Sports Festival, the gold medal in the men's under-20 100m at the Hong Kong Intercity Athletics Championships, the gold medal in the men's high school 100m at the National Athletics Championships, and the silver medal in the 400m at the Asian U-20 Athletics Championships.
Meanwhile, the relay national team won its first gold medal at the Asian Championships with a new record of 38.49 seconds in the finals held on May 31. There are optimistic predictions that they may also secure an Olympic qualification.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
