Jun Woong-tae, who swept up two gold medals from men's modern pentathlon at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Game on Sunday, is now eying a higher position at the Paris Olympics next year.
He scored 1,508 points in total to finish first in the men's individual modern pentathlon final at Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China.
The medal is his second straight gold medal in the same individual event at the Asiad following the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
Jun also led South Korea's team gold medal, marking a combined 4,477 points, along with his teammates, Lee Jun-ho and Jung Jin-hwa, to become the country's first athlete with multiple golds.
"I'm so delighted to become the first double gold medalist in the South Korean delegation," he told reporters in a mixed-zone interview. "I'm so grateful and honored that I could show a good performance at this great venue in front of great spectators."
He said the success in Hangzhou provided him with fresh momentum to work harder for the Paris Olympics next year.
Two years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, the 28-year-old finished third, becoming the first South Korean athlete to win an Olympic medal in modern pentathlon.
"Before coming here, I thought this year's Asian Games would be a checkpoint for my Olympic challenge," he told reporters in a mixed-zone interview. "I think I've passed the point well."
He said he learned how to overcome the early slump here at Hangzhou.
After fencing, held in advance, Jun started the final riding, swimming and laser run events in the seventh position, 35 points behind then leader Lee, his compatriot.
But the swimmer-turned-pentathlete made a dramatic comeback after swimming, rising to the second spot, and grabbed the gold medal after laser run, a combination of shooting and running.
"I had a poor start, but I think I successfully got over the early difficulty and pulled off good results," he said. "This experience gave me fresh confidence for Paris. I hope foreign players will be scared of me when they compete with me."
Source: Yonhap News Agency