Korean swimming renaissance ace Hwang Sun-woo (20-Gangwon Provincial Office) struck silver in the final event of the Games.
The South Korean team of Ji Yoo-chan, Lee Ho-joon (Daegu City Hall), Kim Ji-hoon (Daejeon Sports Council) and Hwang Sun-woo won the silver medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay final with a time of 3:12.96 at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Aquatics Arena on Monday at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The South Korean team, which had previously won only three bronze medals in the event (2002-2006-2010), not only achieved its best result ever, but also broke the Korean record (3:15.39 at the 2022 National Games).
Competing as the last swimmer in the relay, Hwang finished the Games with six medals (gold, silver, bronze) in four days, including a third-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle on Thursday, a first-place finish in the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay on Friday, a second-place finish in the men’s 400-meter medley relay on Saturday, and a first-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle relay and third-place finish in the 400-meter medley relay on Sunday. It is the most medals for a single Asian Games swimmer since Park Tae-hwan, who won seven medals each at Doha 2006 and Guangzhou 2010.
“I am proud that my brothers and I were able to break the Korean record in the last medley relay and win a silver medal,” said Hwang Sun-woo, who met with the media in the joint press area after the competition. Lee Ho-joon, the second swimmer of the day, shared the honor with his golden generation colleagues, saying, “Korean swimming did well today not only because of us, but also because of all the previous events.”
It was another stellar day for Korean swimming. Baek In-chul (Busan City Hall Jung-gu Office) won gold in the men’s 50-meter butterfly and Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Provincial Office) broke the Korean record and meet record in the men’s 800-meter freestyle, respectively, while Kwon Se-hyun (Anyang City Hall) won silver in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke after a 13-year absence, and 스포츠토토 Kim Seo-young, Park Su-jin (Gyeongbuk Provincial Office), Heo Yeon-kyung (Bangsan University), and Handa Kyung (Jeonbuk Sports Federation) won bronze in the women’s 800-meter freestyle relay with a Korean record (8:00.11).
Earlier in the day, China won the gold medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay in an Asian record time of 3:10.88, with Japan taking bronze in 3:14.26.