'Going for the double' Hwang Sun-woo tops 200m freestyle heats, Lee Ho-joon also advances to final

Hwang Sun-woo makes a strong start during the men's 200m freestyle preliminary round of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center swimming pool on Sept. 27, 2018 in Hangzhou, China.

Hwang Sun-woo (20-Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province of Korea), who will attempt to win a double at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, topped the men's 200-meter freestyle heats after beating Fan Zhan-li (19-China) to reach the final.

His teammate, Lee Ho-jun (22-Daegu Metropolitan City Government), also breezed through his heats, raising hopes for a podium finish.

Hwang finished his race in 1:47.08 in heat three of the men's 200m freestyle at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Sunday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China.

Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea backflips during the men's 200m freestyle preliminary round of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Aquatic Sports Arena on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2018 in Hangzhou, China.

Of the 36 swimmers who competed in the event, none were faster than Hwang. Hwang finished first in his heat to earn a spot in the final, which is reserved for the top eight finishers.

Lee Ho-joon, who raced in heat five, finished third in 1:48.13, behind Hwang and Japan's Hidenari Mano (1:47.79).

Pan Zanler, who is considered the most threatening opponent to Hwang's gold medal bid, raced in heat 4 and finished fourth overall with a time of 1:48.42.

Hwang has already collected three medals at the Games. He won gold in the men's 800-meter freestyle relay and added silver in the men's 400-meter medley relay and bronze in the men's 100-meter freestyle.

If he wins his main event, the 200-meter freestyle, he will become the first Korean swimmer to win a double at the Games.

Hwang is the current Asian champion in the event. He won silver and bronze medals at the World Championships in Budapest last year and Fukuoka this year. Hwang's personal best in the event is 1:44.42, just 0.03 seconds off the Asian record held by Sun Yang (1:44.39).

Having previously won the 100m freestyle and 400m medley relay, Fan Zhanle will look to make it a three-peat in the 200m freestyle.

China's Li Bingze (women's freestyle 400m-1500m and medley relay 400m) and Xu Zhai (men's backstroke 50m-100m and medley relay 400m) currently hold the other three swimming titles.

The men's 200-meter freestyle final will be held at the same venue at 8:48 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the swim team qualified for the finals in all of their events in the day's preliminaries.

Lee Eun-ji of South Korea performs a backstroke during the women's 200m backstroke final at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center swimming pool on Saturday afternoon in Hangzhou, China. Lee finished third and became the first South Korean to win a medal in the women's 200-meter backstroke at an Asian Games in 25 years, following Shim Min-ji (bronze) at the 1998 Bangkok Games.

Lee Eun-ji (Bangsango), who won her first women's backstroke medal in 25 years with a third-place finish in the women's 200m backstroke the day before (Sept. 26), finished second in the women's 100m backstroke preliminaries (1:01.29) to boost her chances of a second medal at the Games.

Kim Seo-young (Gyeongbuk Province) finished fourth in the women's 100-meter butterfly preliminaries in 59.48. This is the first time Kim, who won gold in the women's 200m individual medley at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, has competed in a butterfly event at an Asian Games.

Kim's teammates in the men's 100-meter butterfly, Kim Young-beom (Gangwon Chego) and Kim Ji-hoon (Daejeon Metropolitan Sports Association), finished fourth (52.11) and eighth (52.91), respectively.

Kim Hye-jin backstrokes during the women's 100 meters breaststroke preliminary round of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center swimming pool on Sept. 27, 2018 in Hangzhou, China.

In the women's 100-meter breaststroke, Ko Haru (Gangwon Gymnastics) and Kim Hye-jin (Jeollanam-do Athletic Association) also qualified for the final after finishing fifth (1:08.82).

The mixed 400m medley relay team of Lee Ju-ho (Seogwipo City Hall), Choi Dong-yeol (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province), Kim Seo-young (butterfly) and Heo Yeon-kyung (freestyle) also placed third in the preliminaries with a time of 3:51.03, behind China (3:45.67) and Japan (3:47.94). sportstoto.link