South Korean swimming renaissance ace Hwang Sun-woo (20-Gangwon Provincial Office) won the 200-meter freestyle, setting a new Korean and meet record in the process, to claim a double medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Hwang was the first to touch the touchpad in 1:44.40 in the men’s 200-meter freestyle final of the Swimming Business at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Sunday at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Hwang’s time of 1:44.40 was 0.02 seconds off the South Korean record of 1:44.42 set by Hwang when he finished third at the World Championships in Fukuoka in July.
Hwang also shaved 0.40 seconds off Park Tae-hwan’s meet record of 1:44.80 set in Guangzhou in 2010.
‘Rival’ Fan Zhanle (19-China) was second in 1:45.28 and Lee Ho-joon (22-Daegu Metropolitan Government) was third in 1:45.56.
Hwang Sun-woo, who won gold with his teammates in the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay, also took the top spot in the individual event, making it two gold medals at the Games.
It is the first time in 13 years that a South Korean swimmer has won more than one gold medal at a single Asian Games, since Park Tae-hwan won back-to-back titles in Doha in 2006 and Guangzhou in 2010.
With Lee breaking his own personal best (1:45.70) and joining Hwang Sun-woo on the podium, Korea’s men’s swimming program won two medals in a single event at the Asian Games for the first time in 21 years since the 2002 Busan Games in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle (Cho Sung-mo, second; Han Kyu-chul, third).
Hwang, who was competing in his first Asian Games, continued his medal streak for the third consecutive day after winning the 100-meter freestyle (third) on Thursday, the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay (first) on Friday and the men’s 400-meter medley relay (second) on Saturday.
He will swim the final event of the day, the 400-meter medley relay, as the last swimmer for South Korea and will be looking to win his fifth medal of the Games.
Hwang Sun-woo is already recognized as a world-class athlete in the 200-meter freestyle.
He finished second in 1:44.47 at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest and then third in 1:44.42 in Fukuoka in 2023, becoming the first South Korean athlete to win back-to-back World Championship medals.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Hwang missed out on winning the 100-meter freestyle, but retained his top Asian spot in the 200-meter.
He came within 0.01 seconds of Sun Yang’s (CHINA) Asian record of 1:44.39.
“I’m happy to break my own personal record today and stand on top,” said Hwang Sun-woo, “and I’m even happier that Hojun’s brother also got a good result with a bronze medal. It’s great to see the Korean swimming team doing so well.”
Lee Ho-joon, who teamed up with Hwang Sun-woo to win gold in the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay, won silver in the men’s 400-meter medley relay and bronze in the 200-meter freestyle.
“Before the race, I only wanted to be on the podium, but in the end, I was disappointed to finish second,” Lee said. “I will work harder and try to catch up with Sun Woo and Pan Zhanler.” 스포츠토토