Kwanghee Jo Advances to Semifinals by Winning Heat 1 in Kayak Single 200m

Player Jo Gwang-hee. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Jo Gwanghee (27, Ulsan City Hall) has advanced to the semifinals in the kayak sprint 200m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This marks his second consecutive semifinal appearance following the 2016 Rio Olympics.

On the 4th, at the Tokyo Uminomori Water Sports Center, Jo Gwanghee recorded a time of 35.048 in the men's kayak single 200m quarterfinals, finishing first among five competitors and advancing to the semifinals.

Jo Gwanghee is the only Korean canoe athlete to participate in the Olympics. In the earlier heats, he placed third in his group to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Jo Gwanghee will compete in the semifinals on the 5th. The semifinals are divided into two groups, and Jo will start in lane 1 of group 2.

Jo Gwanghee secured gold medals at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games and the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. At the previous Rio Games, he finished 4th in Final B, ranking 12th overall.