Kim Woo-min (22), a Korean men's swimming star, thought of his next goal even when he was cutting through the current of Hangzhou swimming pool. Based on his confidence in winning three Asian Games gold medals, he expressed his ambition to reach the podium at the World Championships and the Paris Olympics next year.
Kim Woo-min recorded 3:44:36 in the men's 400-meter freestyle final at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, on the 29th, the first of eight athletes to hit the touchpad and win the gold medal.
Kim Woo-min won his fourth medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games after winning the men's 800m relay gold medal on the 25th, the 1500m freestyle silver on the 26th, and the 800m freestyle gold on the 28th.
In 13 years since Park Tae-hwan at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, he has achieved three gold medals in swimming at the Asian Games in Korea. Proving that there is no rival in the Asian mid- and long-distance events, he made the Hangzhou Asian Games his No. 1 Coronation Ceremony.
Kim Woo-min predicted a gold medal from the 400-meter freestyle preliminary round held earlier in the day. He participated in Group 4 of the preliminary round and easily won a ticket to the finals, which was given up to eight players, with the fastest record among the 25 players who participated in the preliminary round of 3:49.03.
The 400-meter freestyle final was also for Kim Woo-min. He took the lead at the start. He recorded 52.75 seconds on the first 100m turn, nearly a second shorter than 53.67 seconds in the preliminary round. The 200-meter point also clocked in at 1:49.60, pulling nearly three seconds from 1:52.29 during the preliminary round. Pan Zanler, the No. 1 player in the Chinese swimming sprint, diligently trailed Kim Woo-min, but it was not enough.
Kim Woo-min's final time was 3:44.36 and was 4.45 seconds behind Pan Zanler (3:48:81), who won the silver medal. He literally "dominated" the 400-meter freestyle final race and proudly stood at the top of the podium. On the day of Chuseok, the nation's largest holiday, it gave a big gift to the people who would have cheered on TV in Korea.
Kim Woo-min said in a mixed zone interview after confirming the 400m freestyle gold medal, "I'm happy to achieve three gold medals on a good day of Chuseok. I hope my gold medal will be a gift to the people," he said.
Kim Woo-min was on a strong march throughout the Hangzhou Asian Games. Starting with the 800m relay race, he had to face physical difficulties as he ran 1,500m freestyle, 800m and 400m races in succession.
Kim Woo-min said, "The day after I ran the 800m relay, I participated in the 1,500m freestyle, and my body was hurt to break," adding, "But I recovered by taking a day off in the middle." On the previous day, I felt like my physical condition was a little sagging after finishing 800m freestyle, but I continued to take care of myself at night and ate well. "Thanks to you, I got back to my normal condition this morning," he explained.
Regarding the part that raised the pace from the beginning, he said, "I have to compete with other players, so if I pull it (from the front), I thought I would be able to see and follow me." I focused on my race from the front as much as possible, he said. "I'm really happy to achieve three Asian Games gold medals."
The value of the three gold medals to Kim Woo-min is all the same, but the feelings are slightly different. "The 800m relay was more meaningful and touching because I achieved it with other athletes," he said. "Personally, I am proud that the 800m freestyle gold medal was the best. "I was a little greedy for the 400m freestyle, but I slowed down a little in the second half, but I'm still in a good mood."
The evaluation of the Hangzhou Asian Games was 95 out of 100. The reason for missing five points was the failure to adjust the 1,500m freestyle pace and the faster 400m freestyle final record.
Now, Kim Woo-min's eyes are on the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in February next year and the Paris Olympics in July. As he has boosted his confidence by winning three gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games, he now wants to proudly climb to the podium on a stage full of world classes.
Kim Woo-min joked, "I want to take a day off from swimming for now," before adding, "I'm going to take part in the World Championship in February next year, thinking that it's the last inspection stage before the Paris Olympics." "If we get good results at the Doha World Championships, we will be able to show better performances at the Paris Olympics," he said.
"I ranked sixth in the 400m freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest last year and fifth in the World Championships in Fukuoka this year, and I want to raise this ranking further next year," he said. "My personal goal is to win first place at the Olympics in Paris."
Of course, it is true that Kim Woo-min needs to devote more energy to breaking the record in the remaining 10 months to make him laugh at the Olympics. Samuel Short (Australia), who won the event at the Fukuoka World Championships in July, recorded a time of 3:40.68. Ahmed Halfnawi (Tunisia), the gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, came in with a time of 3:40.70, 0.02 seconds behind him.
Elaija Winnington's time for winning the gold medal in the event at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest was 3:41:22. In any case, Kim Woo-min should reduce it by two to three seconds.
If he finishes the national sports competition in October and the national team competition in November or December, and cuts the record at the Doha World Championships in February next year, it is expected that he will be the first Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal in 12 years since Park Tae-hwan at the Paris Olympics. There is also a variable called Sun Yang. Sun Yang, who has not been on the international stage for nearly three years due to doping disciplinary action, has recently declared that he will temper it with the goal of next year's Paris Olympics, when the disciplinary action will be lifted. Sun will be 33 years old next year.
Meanwhile, with key players such as Kim Woo-min, who won three gold medals, and Hwang Sun-woo, who won two golds, two silver, and two bronze medals, Korean swimming won a total of 22 medals, including six gold medals, six silver medals, and 10 bronze medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games, beating the record of the 2006 Doha Asian Games (3 gold medals, two silver medals, 11 bronze medals). 토토사이트
A month before the opening of the Hangzhou Asian Games, the Korean Sports and Olympic Committee easily exceeded the expectations of winning at least four gold medals in swimming management and finished the schedule in a good mood. National swimming team players, including Kim Woo-min, will return home on the 30th on their way home, leaving behind their memories of the breathless Hangzhou Asian Games.
The final results of the Hangzhou Asian Games national team of the Korean swimming management team (Gold 6, Silver 6, Dong 10)
Gold medals (6 pieces)
- Swimming men's 800m relay: Hwang Sun-woo, Lee Ho-joon, Kim Woo-min, Yang Jae-hoon, Lee Yoo-yeon, Kim Gun-woo
- Swimming Men's 50m freestyle : Ji Yoo Chan
- Swimming men's 200m freestyle: Hwang Sunwoo
- Swimming men's butterfly 50m: Baek In-cheol
- Swimming men's freestyle 800m : Kim Woo Min
- Swimming men's 400m freestyle: Kim Woo-min
Silver medal (6 pieces)
- Swimming men's freestyle 1,500m : Kim Woo Min
- Swimming women's 200m breaststroke: Kwon Se-hyun
- Swimming men's 200m backstroke : Lee Ju Ho
- Swimming men's 400-meter relay: Hwang Sun-woo, Lee Ho-joon, Ji Yoo-chan, Kim Ji-hoon, Yang Jae-hoon, Lee Yoo-yeon, Kim Young-beom
- Swimming men's medley relay 400m : Hwang Sun-woo, Lee Ju-ho, Choi Dong-yeol, Kim Young-beom, Lee Ho-joon, Cho Sung-jae, Kim Ji-hoon
- Swimming women's medley relay 400m: Lee Eun Ji, Ko Haru, Kim Seo Young, Heo Yeon Kyung, Kim Hye Jin, Park Soo Jin, Jeong So Eun
Bronze medal (10 pieces)
- Swimming Men's 100m Backstroke: Lee Ju Ho
- Swimming men's 100m freestyle: Hwang Sunwoo
- Swimming men's 200m freestyle: Lee Hojun
- Swimming Men's 100m breaststroke: Choi Dongyeol
- Swimming men's 200m breaststroke: Choi Dongyeol
- Swimming women's 100m backstroke: Eunji Lee
- Swimming women's 200m backstroke : Eunji Lee
- Swimming women's individual medley 200m: Kim Seo-young
- Swimming women's 800m relay: Kim Seo-young, Heo Yeon-kyung, Park Soo-jin, Ha Ha-kyung, Lee Eun-ji, Jeong So-eun
- Swimming mixed medley relay 400m: Hwang Sun-woo, Choi Dong-yeol, Kim Seo-young, Lee Eun Ji, Lee Ju Ho, and Heo Yeon Kyung