Joel Jin Nwamadi goes from 'Descendants of the Sun' to day in the sun with historic relay gold

작성일 07-30

<div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/07/30/0000074232_001_20250730105510538.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Left: Joel Jin Nwamadi plays a character in the KBS drama series ″Descendants of the Sun″ (2016). Right: Nwamadi visits Gumi Civic Stadium in North Gyeongsang on May 20, ahead of the start of the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships. [SCREEN CAPTURE, YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> The Korean men’s 4x100-meter relay team clinched a historic gold medal at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Summer World University Games, marking the country's first-ever victory in a relay event at a global athletics championship.  <br>    <br> And tucked into the gold-medal quartet is a face that K-drama fans might just recognize.  <br>    <br>  At the final held in Germany on Sunday, the team &#8212; composed of Seo Min-jun, Lee Jae-sung, Kim Jeong-yun and Joel Jin Nwamadi &#8212; finished with a time of 38.50 seconds, capturing Korea’s first gold in an international relay race.  <br>    <br> Among the quartet, Nwamadi has drawn particular attention for his unexpected background in entertainment.  <br>    <br> In 2016, he appeared as a child actor in the KBS drama series "Descendants of the Sun." He played a local boy from the fictional country of Urk, a war-torn Balkan-like nation where both Greek script and Russian were used.  <br>    <br> In a memorable scene from the series, Nwamadi’s character receives shoes from a volunteer doctor played by singer-actor Onew and responds: "I don’t want shoes, I want a goat. I want to raise a goat."  <br>    <br> The line became one of the most iconic moments of the show, illustrating the tragedy of war through a child’s eyes.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/07/30/0000074232_002_20250730105510624.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">From left, Joel Jin Nwamadi, Seo Min-jun, Lee Jun-hyeok and Lee Jae-sung pose for a photo after winning the men’s 4x100-meter relay final at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi Civic Stadium on May 31. The team set a new national and championship record with a time of 38.49 seconds. [YONHAP]</em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Nwamadi, the son of a Nigerian former long jump athlete and a Korean mother, began training in track and field at the urging of his father when he was in fifth grade.  <br>    <br> He emerged as a standout athlete in 2024, setting a new Korean high school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.30 seconds. He further solidified his reputation in April by winning the men’s 100 meters at the national trials for the Asian Athletics Championships &#8212; his debut on the senior stage.  <br>    <br> In May, at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships held in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, Nwamadi and the relay team set a new Korean record of 38.49 seconds and won Korea’s first-ever gold medal in the 4x100-meter event at that competition.  <br>    <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center ">  <div class="image">   <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/07/30/0000074232_003_20250730105510765.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Joel Jin Nwamadi, who won gold in the men’s 4x100-meter relay at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr Summer World University Games, speaks to reporters after arriving at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport on July 29. [NEWS1] </em></span>   <span class="mask"></span>  </div>  </div>    <br> Returning to Incheon Airport on Tuesday, Nwamadi expressed disbelief and pride in the team’s accomplishment.  <br>    <br> “The second leg is the perfect spot for me to make the most of my strengths,” he said. “When we crossed the finish line in first place, I couldn’t believe it at first. My heart was full.”  <br><br><i>Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.</i>

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Joel Jin Nwamadi goes from 'Descendants of the Sun' to day in the sun with historic relay gold

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