South Korea’s sprint duo Nwamadi Joeljin (20, Yecheon County Office) and Biwesa Daniel Gasama (23, Ansan City Hall) fell short of a medal in the men’s 100m at the Asian Games but confirmed their potential by qualifying for the final.
Nwamadi finished fourth in the final of the men’s 100m at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on September 25, clocking 10.17 seconds. He trailed third-place finisher Muntadhar Al-Balushi (Oman) by 0.06 seconds. Biwesa placed fifth with a time of 10.19 seconds.
Nwamadi, a native South Korean born in Seoul and raised in Gimpo, has a Nigerian father. Nwamadi Joeljin is his official name as registered on his resident registration card. He explained that his surname, Nwamadi, comes from his father, while his given name was chosen by his mother. It combines his baptismal name, Joel, with the character “Jin” (珍), meaning “treasure.” Before becoming a track athlete, Nwamadi worked as a child actor. At age 10, he appeared in the popular drama *Descendants of the Sun*, earning the nickname “Goat Boy.” His cute and innocent image led to appearances on children’s programs and other broadcasts.
After the race, Nwamadi expressed regret over his start. “If I had run a bit more relaxed, like in the semifinals, I could have achieved a much better result,” he said. “I think I found areas where I can improve.”
He identified the consistency of his start as a key challenge. “I realized that you can’t always have a perfect start,” Nwamadi said. “The priority is to make my best start the average. I need to focus on training to maintain a stable posture even on days when my start isn’t perfect by continuously practicing the parts that don’t work well.”
The competition also allowed him to gauge the gap between himself and Asia’s top sprinters. The gold medalist, Puripol Busason (20, Thailand), set an Asian Games record of 9.90 seconds. Nwamadi described Busason as “a runner who has been outstanding since childhood and builds his strengths systematically. I think there’s a lot to learn from him, and I felt that during today’s race.” When asked if he believes he can catch up, he replied, “I always have that belief.”
Nwamadi added, “Next year, there are the Asian Championships, the Summer Universiade, and the World Championships. I must keep improving beyond my previous self.” He also stated, “My goal is to break the South Korean record.” The current national record of 10.07 seconds was set by coach Kim Guk-young in 2017. Nwamadi’s personal best is 10.13 seconds.
Biwesa, born to parents from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and raised in South Korea, found meaning in completing his first Asian Games individual event. “One of my goals was to reach the final representing South Korea on such a big stage, and I achieved that,” he said.
While Nwamadi and Biwesa are rivals in individual events, competing for the national record, they are teammates in the men’s 4x100m relay. Together, they now aim to win South Korea’s first Asian Games gold in the relay.
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