'Paris Nightmare' Confused Hwang Sun-woo,'I understand NO → How to look back on your swimming life'男 relay 800m relay final 6th place

Jul 31, 2024

Kim Woo-min (from left), Lee Ho-joon, Hwang Sun-woo and Yang Jae-hoon of the men's swimming relay team leave the stadium after finishing sixth in the final of the 200mx4 swimming relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at La Defence Arena in Paris, France on the 31st (Korea time). Paris (France) = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.31/

사진=Yonhap News

Hwang Sun-woo (Gangwon Provincial Office) eventually bowed his head to 'Olympic Nightmare'.

The Korean swimming team, which formed a team of Yang Jae-hoon (Gangwon Provincial Government), Lee Ho-joon (Jeju City Hall), Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo (Gangwon Provincial Government), took a touchpad with a time of 7:07:26 in the men's 800m relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at La Defense Swimming Center in Paris, France on the 31st (Korea time). He finished sixth in the final. He made the final for the first time in Korean swimming team events, but his dream of winning a medal was not achieved.

After the game, Hwang Sun-woo said, "Of course, I get nervous at the Olympics. I'm not the type to put a load on my body just because I'm nervous. He trained well and had confidence. However, this result came out. I don't understand either. He has always won medals at the World Championships and Asian Games since the Tokyo Olympics (three years ago). The situation is more confusing now,' he blamed himself.

Hwang Sun-woo of the swimming team is starting in the 100m freestyle preliminary round of the 2024 Paris Olympics held at La Defence Arena in Paris, France on the 30th (Korea time). Hwang advanced to the semifinals in 16th place overall. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.30/

Hwang Sun-woo of the swimming team competes in the 100m freestyle preliminary round of the 2024 Paris Olympics held at La Defence Arena in Paris, France on the 30th (Korea time). Hwang advanced to the semifinals in 16th place overall. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.30/

Hwang Sun-woo of the swimming team checks the record after finishing the 100m freestyle preliminary round for the 2024 Paris Olympics held at La Defence Arena in Paris, France on the 30th (Korea time). Hwang advanced to the semifinals in 16th place overall. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.30/

Hwang Sun-woo, born in 2003, is a representative of Korean swimming. He won three consecutive World Championships podiums in the 200 m freestyle. He collected one gold, silver, and bronze medal each. At the Hangzhou Asian Games held last year, he won in 1:44.40. Above all, he was even stronger at the Olympics. He surprised the world at the Tokyo Games, which he participated in for the first time in his career. In the men's 200m freestyle preliminaries, he set a new Korean record of 1:44.62. He cut the previous record (1 minute 44.80 seconds) set by Park Tae-hwan at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games by 0.18 seconds in 11 years. In addition, he was the only Asian to reach the semifinals in the men's 100m freestyle. He set an Asian record of 47.56 seconds in the semi-final.

사진=Yonhap News

Expectations were higher than ever in this tournament. She entered Paris as a favorite to win the 200m freestyle. However, Hwang finished ninth (1:45.92) in the 200m freestyle semi-final, missing the qualification for the final round, which eight players received. At the time, Hwang Sun-woo "I worked hard for three years after the Tokyo Olympics. This disappointing result disappointed me and myself. We have yet to figure out exactly what was wrong with the semi-final race. He was in good shape during the preliminary round (1:46.13 seconds, 4th overall) or until he prepared for the semifinals. I felt like I was under load in the last 50 meters"He blamed himself.

But I didn't give up. Hwang vowed to take off in the men's 800m relay. He took a winning move for this. He gave up competing in the 100m freestyle. He had reached the semifinals in the 100m freestyle with a time of 48.41 seconds and 16th place. However, he chose 800m relay instead of 100m freestyle.

사진=Yonhap News

Hwang was acquired as the last Englishman for the Korean national team in the men's 800m relay. He was already in eighth place among the nine teams in the final. It was impossible to win a medal. Hwang's section record was 1:45.99. Hwang Sun-woo beat two and South Korea rose to sixth place. However, the ranking of 7:07:26 and sixth place was a disappointing report card for the Korean national relay team. South Korea finished second with a time of 7:01.94 at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in February. At that time, Hwang Sun-woo reversed his last 200m with a remarkable time of 1:43.76. However, in Paris, Hwang Sun-woo's section record was 2.23 seconds slow. The Korean national team's record also fell by more than five seconds compared to the Doha World Championships.

The Taegeuk Warriors eventually shed tears after the race. Lee Ho-jun "I prepared for the Paris Olympics for three years from the Tokyo Olympics, but I ended up with a disappointing result. Nevertheless, we were able to finish with a little better performance thanks to the secretary-general of the Swimming Federation who supported us in both ways to achieve a little better performance and those who supported Korean meals. Hwang Sun-woo is also crying in his heart," he said.

It's not the end. Hwang Sun-woo "I felt deeply that there was still a lot to learn. It also served as an opportunity to look back on my swimming life. I think I need more training and mental maturity to show my skills on the big stage of the Olympics. I still have to participate in the medley relay, but when I return to Korea after the competition, I will concentrate more on swimming than I do now."

epi17@sportschosun.com

'Paris Nightmare' Confused Hwang Sun-woo,'I understand NO → How to look back on your swimming life'男 relay 800m relay final 6th place

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