Hwang Seon-woo (Gangwon Provincial Office), the ‘hope of Korean swimming’, took first place in the men’s 200m freestyle at the national selection event, enabling him to challenge for a second consecutive medal at the World Championships.
Hwang Seon-woo was the first to take a touchpad with a record of 1:45:36 in the men’s 200m freestyle final on the fifth day of the KB Financial Korea Swimming Championship (2023 National Business Team Selection Competition) held at the indoor swimming pool in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk on the afternoon of the 29th.
When she won the silver medal at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary in June of last year, she fell short of the Korean record (1:44:47), but did not miss the first place.
Lee Ho-jun (Daegu City Hall), who is teaming up with Hwang Seon-woo as a member of the men’s 800m relay with the goal of winning the first gold medal in the Asian Games team event, also chased until the end and took second place with a time of 1:45:70. Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Provincial Office) placed third with a time of 1:46:10.
This competition will be held as a selection match for the national team such as this year’s World Championships and Hangzhou Asian Games.
Hwang Seon-woo and Lee Ho-jun also passed the International Swimming Federation A record (1:47:06), allowing them to compete side by side at the World Championships to be held in Fukuoka, Japan in July. Kim Woo-min also broke the International Federation A record, but only a maximum of two players per event can participate in one country.
In the history of Korean swimming, three or more people who passed the A record of the International Federation were Park Jin-young (retired), Park Soo-jin (Gyeongbuk Provincial Office), and Ahn Se-hyeon (retired) in the women’s 200m butterfly at the 87th Dong-A Swimming Championship held as a selection contest for dispatchers to the 2015 Kazan World Swimming Championships. It has been 8 years since Ulsan City Hall).
In the men’s 200m butterfly, Kim Min-seop (Dokdo Sports Team) and Moon Seung-woo (Jeonju City Hall) passed the International Federation’s A record and competed together at the World Championships in Budapest last year, but this is the first time the two have participated side by side in the freestyle event.
Although it is still early in the season, Hwang Seon-woo and Lee Ho-joon have surpassed the record (1:46:07) set this month by 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Tom Dean (Great Britain) and rose to first and second in the men’s 200m freestyle world ranking this season.
Hwang Seon-woo won the 100m freestyle final held on the 27th and secured the qualification to participate in the world championships three times in a row following the 2019 Gwangju Games and the 2022 Hungary Budapest Games.
At the 2019 Gwangju Games, Hwang Seon-woo, who only competed in the 800m relay team event, and won a silver medal in the 200m freestyle at the 2022 Budapest Games, will be able to aim for a medal at the World Championships for the second time in a row in Fukuoka먹튀검증.
I will be participating in the Asian Games for the first time this year.
With Hwang Seon-woo alive and well, Lee Ho-joon and Kim Woo-min’s positive influence is added, and the dream of winning the first gold medal in the team event at the Asian Games in Korean swimming is also growing.
After the match, Hwang Seon-woo said through the Korea Swimming Federation, “In previous domestic competitions, the distance increased after 100m, but today it was similar until the last 50m, so I competed nervously.” We were delighted with the anticipation that they would come out,” he said with a smile.
Lee Ho-joon, who set the personal best record (1:46:99) set at the National Sports Festival last year by 1 second and 29 seconds in 5 months, said, “First of all, I am very happy and proud because it is the first time I have participated in the World Championships on my own.” After finishing 2018 as a 1:46 player, my goal this year was to become a 1:45 player, and that goal was achieved faster than expected, allowing me to prepare more confidently for the World Championships and Asian Games.” .
Yang Jae-hun (Gangwon Provincial Office), who went to overseas training in Australia as a special strategic training team for the Asian Games with Hwang Seon-woo, Lee Ho-jun, and Kim Woo-min, recorded 1 minute 48 seconds 10 and finished the game in 4th place, winning the World Swimming Championships and the Asian Games as a ‘team player only’. Participation in the 800m relay became influential.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 50m freestyle, Yuchan Ji (Daegu City Hall) took first place in the men’s and women’s divisions with a time of 22.31 seconds and Soeun Jeong (Ulsan City Hall) with a time of 25.42 seconds.
In the men’s 100m butterfly, Kim Young-beom (Gangwon Chego) won with a time of 52.63, getting closer to the Taegeuk mark for the first time in his life.
Kim Seo-yeong (Gyeongbuk Provincial Office) won the women’s 100m butterfly with a time of 58.48, making her second gold medal following her 200m individual medley.
Heo Yeon-kyung (Bangsan High School), who set a new Korean record in the 100m freestyle on the 27th, was the only one to finish the race in less than two minutes with a time of 1:59:90 in the 200m freestyle that day.
By the day before the closing of the tournament, a total of seven players had been confirmed to participate in this year’s World Championships.