“I want to keep breaking records until the Hangzhou Asian Games,” said “Korean swimming ace” Hwang Sun-woo (20-Gangwon Provincial Office) after setting a new Korean record in the men’s 400-meter medley relay (3:34.25) at the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships on July 30.
Almost two months later, on the 26th, the South Korean men’s medley relay final at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, they lowered the Korean record again to 3:32.05.
The record breaking performance led to a shiny silver medal.
Lee Ju-ho (28, Seogwipo City Hall), Choi Dong-yeol (24, Gangwon Provincial Office), Kim Young-beom (17, Gangwon Chego) and Hwang Sun-woo (freestyle), who set the Korean record two months ago, worked together again today to lower the previous record by 2.20 seconds.
China’s Asian record of 3:27.01 (previously 3:29.00) was not surpassed, but second place was a realistic goal. Japan finished third behind South Korea in 3:32.52.
“I broke the previous Korean record with these guys by more than two seconds,” said Hwang Sun-woo after the race, “I’m happy that my brother and sister did so well, and I want to keep breaking Korean records with these guys.”
After swimming the 100-meter freestyle preliminaries and final (bronze) on Thursday and the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay final (gold) on Friday, Hwang willingly swam the last leg of the 400-meter medley relay final.
Starting 0.08 seconds behind the Japanese, the last South Korean swimmer clocked 47.63 seconds in the 100-meter leg to complete a thrilling victory over Japan’s last swimmer, Nakamura, who clocked 48.16.
“I didn’t have to swim the 800-meter freestyle relay and 400-meter medley relay heats, only the finals, so I decided before I came to Hangzhou that I would swim as much as I could in the team finals,” Hwang said, adding, “It’s fun to make records together.” The camaraderie was evident.
The three backstrokers also shone as they fought hard against Japan to help Hwang complete the upset.
Lee Ju-ho, who had won three Asian Games bronze medals before this day, said, “We beat the Japanese by combining the best Korean athletes in each event,” adding, “I had fun playing with good players. I’m really satisfied.”
Choi Dong-yeol, who won a silver medal in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke after winning bronze the day before, said, “There was an image that Korean swimming was the third best in Asia after China and Japan, so it means a lot that we got second place in the medley relay.” “If we prepare hard, we can stand at the top of the world one day,” he said.
The youngest member, Kim Young-bum, said, “It means a lot that I improved my time in two months. It’s even more meaningful to compete with my older brothers who are good.”
Like two months ago, Hwang Sun-woo predicted even greater heights for the men’s medley relay.
“We’ve been able to keep breaking the Korean record because the sum of our members is really good,” he said. “We have the Olympics, World Championships and Asian Games coming up. I want to achieve even better records and performances with this team.”
For now, Hwang will have to show off her individual skills in the 200-meter freestyle on Sunday.
“My main event, the 200m freestyle, is tomorrow. “I was disappointed that I couldn’t give it my all in the 100-meter freestyle,” he said. “I promise to bring out all the results of my training in the 200-meter freestyle tomorrow. 스포츠토토