Gangwon-do Ranks 7th Overall at National Sports Festival with 5 New Korean Records

The 105th National Sports Festival Closes Today... Achieves Best Results in 16 Years
"Steady Increase in Professional Sports Budget Leads to Outstanding Performance Relative to Population"

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jin-tae) participated in 46 events at the 105th National Sports Festival, which concluded on the 17th, winning a total of 224 medals: 78 gold, 72 silver, and 74 bronze, and achieving a total score of 37,227 points, ranking 7th overall. This is two ranks higher than the initial goal of 9th place, marking a remarkable achievement of reaching a single-digit ranking for the first time in 16 years since 2008.

On the afternoon of the 17th, participants are entering the '105th National Sports Festival (National Sports Festival) Closing Ceremony' held at Gimhae Sports Complex in Gyeongnam.

The Gangwon team that participated in this National Sports Festival consisted of 1,410 members (1,121 athletes and 289 officials) competing in 46 events including swimming and athletics. Notable individual events where Gangwon athletes excelled included swimming, weightlifting, judo, gymnastics, athletics (road race), and yachting, while team events such as soccer, tennis, soft tennis, and sepak takraw also stood out.

In particular, beyond medal acquisition, the team set 5 new Korean records and 27 new tournament records, totaling 32 all-time best records. Multiple medalists included 2 athletes winning 5 golds, 2 athletes winning 4 golds, 6 athletes winning 3 golds, and 9 athletes winning 2 golds, producing a total of 19 athletes across 6 events.

The secret to the Gangwon team’s success lies in actively recruiting outstanding athletes with competitive skills and expertise, steadily increasing the budget for professional sports development. Compared to the previous year, team events with higher scoring ratios advanced to the semifinals and finals, significantly contributing to the total points earned.

Additionally, encouragement from Governor Kim Jin-tae for Gangwon athletes and strong interest from the residents helped the athletes to perform with greater determination.

Yang Hee-gu, President of the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Sports Council, extended words of encouragement to the hardworking Gangwon team at this tournament, expressing joy by saying, “The results of the National Sports Festival reflect one year’s worth of achievements in professional sports and represent our report card.” He also said, “Every year, the results have been somewhat disappointing compared to the athletes’ efforts, which weighed heavily on my heart, but I am grateful for the hard work of the athletes and coaches who produced good results in this tournament,” and added, “I sincerely thank all the residents who supported Gangwon sports.”

Governor Kim Jin-tae stated, “In terms of population, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province should be ranked around 12th, but we have surpassed provinces with populations over 3 million to achieve today’s results,” and expressed gratitude to the athletes and sports council officials who trained hard through the hot summer months.