At the last minute, the pace dropped to 0.04 seconds per day, and the final round failed to pass 'Shock'Hwang Sun-woo 'My swimming life is not over'

Jul 29, 2024

Yonhap News

Suddenly, the pace dropped, and 0.04 seconds.'Swimming Monster'Hwang Sun-woo (21, Kangwon Provincial Government) put off his chance for the Olympic Stadium to the next time.

Hwang Sun-woo failed to advance to the final round of the men's 200m freestyle semifinals at the Paris Olympics at 3:46 a.m. on the 29th (Korea time), ranking ninth overall among 16 athletes. It is a shocking result. Earlier, the U.S. swimming media 'Swimswam' predicted that Hwang Sun-woo would win a bronze medal in the 200m freestyle at the Olympics, following David Popovich (Romania) and Lucas Martens (Germany). Hwang also reached the semifinals with a time of 1:46.13 in the preliminary round in fourth place overall. After finishing the warm-up in the preliminary round, he was expected to make a spurt in the main round held in the afternoon local time. Roommate Kim Woo-min (23, Kangwon Provincial Government), who competed side by side in the 200m freestyle preliminaries, liked it as an expert on Hwang Sun-woo. Wouldn't it be more different in the afternoon?" predicted a positive result. Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min reached the semifinals side by side, and the two players won the quota in a single event for the first time in Korean swimming history.

What? When the lid of the semi-final line opened, an unexpected picture unfolded. Hwang Sun-woo, who got into the semi-final first lane of Group 1, finished first in the first 100m overall, but fell back in the 100-150m section in the second half, ranking fifth with a time of 1:45:92 and Kim Woo-min ranked sixth with a time of 1:46:58. Luke Hobson of the U.S. ranked second with a time of 1:45.19, Martens with a time of 1:45.36, Lapsis Danas of Lithuania with a time of 1:45.48 and Matthew Richards of the U.K. with a time of 1:45.63. Hwang Sun-woo's pace dropped sharply in the 150-200m section, leaving a low record of 1:45 to late. Hwang's personal best was 1:44.40 at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

Hwang Sun-woo had to watch the results of Group 2 of the semifinals with anxiety. Only eight of the 16 who made it to the semifinals through the preliminary round were able to make it to the final round. But the goddess of fate turned a blind eye to Hwang Sun-woo. Major competitors such as Popovich, Duncan Scott of the United Kingdom, Maximilian Giuliani of Australia and Matsumoto Katsuhiro of Japan competed without concession in Group 2 of the semifinals. In the end, Hwang Sun-woo fell to ninth place with 0.04 seconds behind Katsuhiro, who recorded 1:44:88. The 9th to 10th place in the semifinal round can participate in the final round instead if any of the 1st to 8th place players in the semifinal round are dropped due to injuries. However, it is unlikely that any player who easily gives up the game will make it to the finals after going through a difficult process. Kim Woo-min finished 12th overall in the semifinal with a time of 1:46.58. The two best friends, who dreamed of a 200m medal side by side, were in a situation of consoling each other.

For Hwang Sun-woo, the 200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics was a challenge for his life. Hwang Sun-woo, who appeared on the Olympic stage for the first time through the Tokyo Olympics and gained valuable experience and disappointment in no medals at the same time, devoted himself to the Paris Olympics held three years later. Whenever I performed well at the World Championships and Asian Games, it was the Olympics that I said. Following Park Tae-hwan's footsteps, he was full of determination to give Korean swimming an Olympic medal. I practiced, and I practiced again. In a New Year's interview with Sports Chosun, Hwang Sun-woo poured everything into it to the point where he said, `So far, I would have gone around the Earth just once by swimming.' So I was more disappointed.

Hwang gave a disappointing result of 1:45.92 at the semifinal. I've been preparing hard for three years, but I'm disappointed because the results came out a little bit disappointed. "I will finish the remaining 800m relay, 100m freestyle, and 400m medley relay."." Hwang Sun-woo said "I haven't figured out my race yet. In the morning, I felt fine, so I thought I could do well in the semifinals, but I lost my pace because I was under load in the second half of the 50m.

"I think it's right to forget about today and focus on the next game. "I couldn't make it to the finals by a single stroke." "It is a semifinal line that has been a lesson and experience in moving forward as a swimmer rather than regretting it. I'll shake it off quickly and prepare well for the rest of the game. This Olympics is not the end of my swimming life. I will prepare hard for the next major competitions and the remaining games of the Olympics"I vowed.

Kim Woo-min, who won the bronze medal in the 400m freestyle earlier, expressed his determination for the 'Gyeyeong 800m' podium together, saying, `I was very sad to see the results because I knew we prepared harder than anyone else and we knew each other worked hard.' "The preparations for the relay are going well. If we work well with our team members and trust each other and have confidence in each other, there will be good results."

Hwang Sun-woo is aiming for a medal in the men's 800m relay on the 30th and the men's 400m medley relay on August 3rd.

yoonjinman@sportschosun.com