Older, wiser and better, swimming world champion Hwang Sun-woo eyes 1st Olympic medal in Paris

Older, wiser and better, swimming world champion Hwang Sun-woo eyes 1st Olympic medal in Paris

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Korean swimming star Hwang Sun-woo made his Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago at 18, an age

when most athletes, no matter how skilled they may be, don't yet have a firm grasp on how to compete in

such a big event.

In the men's 200-meter freestyle, Hwang raced exactly the way you would expect a teenager in his first

Olympics to. He jumped into the pool, swam like his hair was on fire for the early stretch, and inevitably

ran out of gas down the stretch.

Three years later, Hwang, with a world title and two Asian Games gold medals under his belt now, believes

he can apply lessons from Tokyo to Paris for this year's 안전 Olympics.

"I learned so much from Tokyo. I had zero experience then and I had a lot of regrets afterward," Hwang

said Tuesday during the national team media day at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon,

some 85 kilometers southeast of Seoul. "I've been able to build on that, and gained a lot of experience at

world championships and the Asian Games. That's how I've become the swimmer that I am today. Tokyo

was really important for my swimming career, and I want to be able to demonstrate my savvy this time

and reach the podium."

In Tokyo, Hwang won the 200m freestyle heats in the world junior record time of 1:44.62. But he was

nearly a full second slower in the semifinals. Then in the final, Hwang was on a world record pace through

the first 150m before finishing in seventh place in 1:44.68.

Hwang's time in the heats would have been good for the bronze medal in the final. Whereas swimmers

typically improve their times from heats to the semifinals and the final, Hwang went in the opposite

direction then.

Hwang vowed he won't make the same mistake.

"In swimming, records are obviously important, but it's really about who touches the pad first," Hwang

said. "I've learned how to manage my races better and when to kick into a higher gear."

Hwang used exactly that type of strategy to win his first 200m freestyle world title in Doha in February

this year. It came on the heels of a bronze medal at the 2023 world championships and a silver medal at

the 2022 competition.

For this season, Hwang's world title-winning time of 1:44.75 is tied for the fourth-fastest time in the world,

with Duncan Scott of Britain, the reigning Olympic silver medalist, having also posted that time.

Lukas Martens of Germany owns the fastest 200m freestyle time this year at 1:44.75. Seven swimmers

have been in the 1:44 territory this year, including David Popovici of Romania, who edged out Hwang for

the 2022 world title, and Matthew Richards of Britain, the 2023 world champion.

"I think everyone in the final will be my rivals. There are so many swimmers who've done 1:44 this year,"

Hwang said. "I want to focus on my own race and make sure I don't make any mistakes. But it's hard to

predict how an Olympic race will play out. It will come down to race management."

 

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