South Korean backstroker Lee Joo-ho (28, Seogwipo City Hall) broke the Korean record in the men’s 200-meter backstroke to qualify for the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
Lee touched the touchpad in 1:56.05 to win the men’s 200-meter backstroke final at the 2024 Swimming Management National Selection Tournament at the Gimcheon Indoor Pool in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, on Thursday, beating Kim Sung-joo (Gangwon Province) by a margin of 1:59.93.
Lee’s time of 1:56.05 was 0.49 seconds faster than the Korean record of 1:56.54, which he set when he won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sept. 29.
Lee narrowly missed the International Swimming Federation’s A record of 1:58.07, earning him a spot at the Doha World Championships next February.
“He is the first Korean athlete to qualify for the Doha World Championships,” the Korean Swimming Federation said.
Lee will be competing in his fourth consecutive World Aquatics Championships starting in Gwangju in 2019.
“I met up with my training team from last June’s Hangzhou Special Strategic Development Squad and received a lot of personal help,” said Lee, who trained in Australia immediately after the National Games. “They gave me a lot of advice on my dolphin kick and stroke, which is one of my weaknesses, and it showed immediately.”
“I hope to compete confidently at the Doha World Championships and do my best in every moment as we move towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”
Choi Dong-yeol (Gangwon Provincial Government) won the men’s 100-meter breaststroke in 1:00.04, but was unable to break the International Swimming Federation A record (59.75).
The Korean Swimming Federation’s (KSF) own standard of 1:00.65 was exceeded, leaving the door open for him to qualify for the Doha World Championships.
He will qualify for the World Championships in Doha if he breaks the FINA A record and finishes in the top two in each event at the trials.
The first-place finishers in each event who do not exceed the FINA A time and pass the KSF standard will be reviewed by the Performance Enhancement Committee to determine if they will compete at the World Championships.
Choi finished third in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke at the Hangzhou Asian Games in a new Korean record of 59.28 seconds. However, he was unable to beat the International Swimming Federation’s A time, which is lower than his time, at the trials and will now await a decision from the Performance Enhancement Committee.
In the 200-meter butterfly, Park Jung-hoon (23, Daejeon City Sports Association) won the men’s race in 1:56.92 and Park Soo-jin (Gyeongbuk Provincial Office) won the women’s race in 2:09.36.
Both Park and Park failed to break the International Swimming Federation A record (1:56.71 for the men and 2:09.21 for the women), but passed the KSF standard (1:58.46 for the men and 2:11.15 for the women).
In the women’s 200-meter backstroke final, junior high school student Kim Seung-won (under construction) won in 2:13.18. However, she fell short of the KSF standard (2:13.05).
Korea’s top women’s backstroker Lee Eun-ji (Bangsango) decided not to compete at the Doha World Championships to focus on the Paris Olympics.
Moon Soo-ah (Seoul Weight) took first place in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke in 1:08.97. However, she failed to break the KSF standard (1:08.36). 메이저사이트