[imagesource:x/forberge]

Winning a gold medal comes with more than just bragging rights for South Korean athletes – the honour also gives them an exemption from mandatory military service.

Unfortunately for South Korean skater Jung Cheol-won, the decision to celebrate a fraction of a second too early at the Asia Games cost him and his teammates a spot atop the podium, and also his exemption, so nou gaan Boetie moet border toe.

Jung was part of the three-man South Korean team taking part in the men’s 3,000-metre speed skating relay final at the Huangzhou Asian Games in China on Monday.

The 27-year-old, who was skating the final leg of the race, approached the finish line just ahead of Taiwan’s Huang Yu-Lin. Thinking that he had the gold medal sealed, Jung chose to raise his hands aloft and not reach for the finish line.

Unbeknownst to him, Huang stretched a long, left leg forward and was just able to pip Jung to first place.

@moducity 【Early celebration costs South Korean roller-skaters gold by 0.01 seconds at Asian Games】 South Korean roller-skater Jung Cheol-won was left red-faced at the Asian Games on Monday when an early celebration cost his team a gold medal in the 3,000 metres relay race.The 27-year-old eased up and raised his arms as he approached the finish, only to be pipped by Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Lin on the line.Chinese Taipei won the gold by 0.01 seconds.#AsianGames #Hangzhou #rollerskating #HangzhouAsianGames #AsianGames2023 #goldmedal #silvermedal #SouthKorea #prematurecelebration #earlycelebration #fyp #sports ♬ 原声 – Moducity

As a result, Taiwan finished with a time of 4:05.692 for the gold medal, with South Korea crossing the line in second place with a time of 4:05.702, meaning that Taiwan won the gold by an agonising 0.01 seconds. India finished in third with a time of 4:10.128.

“I thought it was such a shame that I was just a little bit short, and then the results came up on the screen showing that we had won by one-hundredth of a second, and it was just a miracle,” Huang said after the race.

Jung, obviously feeling like a poepol, apologising for how he finished his final lap. “I made a rather big mistake,” Jung said, per Reuters. “I didn’t come at full speed to the finish line. I let my guard down too early. I am very sorry.”

Even worse for Jung is that his teammate, Choi In-ho, will now also lose out on a military exemption.

Military service is compulsory for men in South Korea, with almost all able-bodied persons required to serve in the army for 18 months by the age of 28. The mandatory duty can be waived for some athletes, in particular, those who win an Olympic medal or a gold medal in the Asian Games.

However, South Korean law allows men who are deemed to excel in sports, popular culture, art or higher education to defer their service until the age of 30.

That means that Jung will have to win a gold medal at the 2026 games if he wishes to avoid military service in the country to the south of that Kim-Jung-Un nutter.

[source:cnn]