"'Ununderstandable Olympic bad luck' Hwang Sun-woo is crying in his heart"
Jul 31, 2024
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Hwang Sun-woo (21, Gangwon Provincial Government) bowed his head due to the terrible Olympic bad luck.
The left-handedness, the spirited first Tokyo Olympics, the 100m freestyle and the 200m freestyle all advanced to the final, but despite holding the medal record, he failed to adjust the pace of the preliminary, semi-final, and final and missed the medal.
Ahead of the second Paris Olympics in three years, he sweated more than anyone else. He has never missed the podium in the 200-meter freestyle at the World Championships in Budapest, Fukuoka, and Doha. Both short and long courses became world champions and proudly won the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games. The Paris Olympics were the best stage to prove their remarkable growth over the past three years, and they prepared for the D-Day with more confidence than anyone else.
However, the first Olympics in three years has not been kind again this time. It was a shock to be eliminated from the main 200m freestyle semi-final. Ahead of the 800m relay, Hwang Sun-woo changed his mind. A new Asian record of 7:01.73 taken at the Hangzhou Asian Games was considered sufficient to win a medal. As they watched their records grow in harsh training, they even watched them break the `seven-minute wall.' However, he was again devastated by an unexpected low record of 7 minutes and 7 seconds.
The Korean national team finished sixth out of nine countries in the men's 800m relay final at the Paris Olympics held at La Defense Arena in Paris on the 31st. The dream of winning an Olympic medal for the first time in history failed.
Hwang Sun-woo, who was the final Englishman after Yang Jae-hoon, Lee Ho-joon and Kim Woo-min, posted a time of 1:45:99, far below his personal best of 200m freestyle and a new Korean record of 1:44:40. At the Doha World Championship silver medal, he failed to show his brilliant momentum on the Olympic stage, finishing in the 1:43 range. Following the individual event, the team event also missed the opportunity to win an Olympic medal that the sky was falling. For some reason, Hwang Sun-woo's unique explosive spurt did not come out at a time when he had to perform to his heart's content.
Hwang performed well at the Asian Games, the World Championships, and aimed for a medal at the Paris Olympics. But I think everyone will be disappointed because the results are not good enough"I'm sorry that I didn't show anything even though I only looked at the Paris Olympics," he said. "I'm crying in my heart." Hwang Sun-woo said "I didn't have any cold or body aches, and I wasn't in a bad condition. But the record didn't come out. I don't even know what the problem is. I was frustrated and greatly disappointed in myself. I was embarrassed."
For those who point out the low water depth of 2.2m, limestone water, and poor conditioning conditions in Paris, the golden generation answers, "Everyone is in the same condition". The appearance of blaming oneself without blaming the environment is a part that expects greater growth of the golden generation in the future.
Hwang Sun-woo shook his head when he cited psychological effects such as pressure and tension. "I'm nervous because it's the Olympics, but I don't think I'm overloaded because I'm too nervous. "The pace was good during the practice. It was the Paris Olympics with confidence, but the result was disappointing. I don't understand very well.'
Hwang Sun-woo was disappointed, but not frustrated. "I thought I'd learned a lot for three years, but I'm still lacking a lot. I'll work hard again in the next major competition" expressed his determination. "There's a lot left in the future. I will concentrate on training once again to show better performance next year, the year after next, and even the LA Olympics."
sky4us@sportschosun.com
