Hwang Sun-woo 1st Place in the 200m Freestyle at the National Team Selection A Good Stepping Stone for the World Championships




Hwang Seon-woo (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province), a representative figure in Korean swimming, won first place in the men's 200m freestyle at the national swimming team selection event and earned a right to participate in the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.

Hwang Seon-woo was the first to hit the touchpad with a time of 1 minute 45.68 seconds in the 200m freestyle at the 2024 National Swimming Team Selection Competition held at the Gimcheon Indoor Swimming Pool on the 27th.

Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office) took second place with 1 minute 46.06 seconds, and Lee Ho-jun (Daegu Metropolitan City Hall) took third place with 1 minute 46.07 seconds.

This competition, which selects athletes for the World Aquatics Championships to be held in Doha, Qatar from February 11th to 18th next year, requires participants to place in the top two in each event or meet the International Aquatics Federation's A record to qualify.

Accordingly, Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min secured the right to participate in the 200m freestyle at the World Championships.

In particular, Hwang Sun-woo will challenge for his third consecutive World Championships 200m freestyle medal. Hwang Sun-woo, who showed off his world-class skills in this event, won a silver medal at the 2022 Budapest Games and a bronze medal at the 2023 Fukuoka Games. Hwang Sun-woo is the first Korean athlete to win two consecutive World Aquatics Championships medals.

Sunwoo Hwang expressed his thoughts through management company All That Sports, saying, “The record of 1 minute and 45 seconds was not bad, which served as a good stepping stone for preparation for next year’s World Championships.”

He added, "After finishing the Hangzhou Asian Games and the National Sports Festival, I had a hard time lifting my body, but I thought it was a preparation process for the world championships, so I raced hard and achieved a good record."

Kim Woo-min said, "I wasn't in perfect condition, but I'm happy that I was able to break my personal best record. I'm really looking forward to the 800m freestyle relay (as everyone has good times in the 200m freestyle). I'm also focusing on the 400m and 800m freestyle to compete at the World Championships next year. “I will run a good race at the Paris Olympics.”

Lee Yu-yeon (Goyang City Hall) recorded 1 minute 48.04 seconds, beating Jae-hoon Yang (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Provincial Office) with 1 minute 50.70 seconds to take fourth place.

The first to fourth place finishers in the men's 200m freestyle at this competition will advance to the 800m relay at the World Aquatics Championships.

Lee Yu-yeon was a member of the 800m relay at the 2022 Budapest Games, but was later pushed out by Jae-hoon Yang and was unable to run the 800m relay at the 2023 Fukuoka Games and Hangzhou Asian Games, but rejoined the 800m relay team.

Yoon Ji-hwan, a second-year student at Gangwon Physical Education High School, won first place in the men's 50m backstroke and qualified for his first world championships. Ji-hwan Yoon finished the men's 50m backstroke race in 24.96 seconds, passing the International Swimming Federation A record of 25.16 seconds.

Joo-ho Lee (Seogwipo City Hall), who previously won the 100m and 200m backstroke, finished in 4th place with a time of 25.35 seconds.

Yun Ji-hwan, born in January 2006, is 188 cm tall, weighs 82 kg, and has a wingspan of 2 m, and has a physique suitable for short distances. Through the Korea Swimming Federation, Ji-hwan Yoon said, "I set a goal of breaking the Korean record (24.93 seconds), but I am a little disappointed that I could not achieve it." He said, “Still, I am happy to be able to participate in the World Aquatics Championships, considering it meaningful to enter the top 24.”

Jaehoon Yang took first place in the men's 100m butterfly with a time of 52.70 seconds. In addition, the Korean Swimming Federation (KSF) meets its own standard record (52.74 seconds), and the final decision on whether to send it to the World Aquatics Championships will be made through deliberation by the Performance Improvement Committee.

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