# Olympics Taegeuk Warriors Go, Korean Swimming Genius Hwang Sun-woo

In the men's 200m freestyle, Park Tae-hwan is challenging for the first Olympic medal in 12 years, and is expected to compete fiercely with Popovic, Martens, Richards, etc.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, the Korean swimming world was enthusiastic about the genius Hwang Sun-woo (21, Gangwon-do Office), who appeared like a blessing.

The scene where Hwang Sun-woo transformed from 'one of the promising swimmers' to 'the representative athlete of Korean swimming' occurred in the men's 200m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics.

Hwang Sun-woo, who had set a new Korean record and a new world junior record with a time of 1 minute 44.62 seconds in the preliminaries and took first place overall, predicted an upset, but adjusted his pace in the semifinals and advanced to the finals with a record of 6th overall.

In the finals, he overtook his competitors like a torpedo from the beginning of the race and swam first until the 150m section, making it seem like Korea would win its second Olympic gold medal in swimming history after Park Tae-hwan in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. **[무료슬롯사이트](https://bsc.news/post/2024-safety-slotsite-rankings-free-online-slot-site-recommendations-top15)**

However, Hwang Sun-woo, an 18-year-old boy who was competing on the Olympic stage for the first time, lost strength in the last 50m and ended up finishing in 7th place (1 minute 45.26 seconds).

Three years have passed since the Tokyo Olympics, and Hwang Sun-woo, who was once a hot-blooded teenager, is now in his early 20s, the prime of his career, and is looking forward to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

During the three years, Hwang Sun-woo has gained experience through numerous international competitions.

He won his first long course (50m) World Championships medal at the 2022 Budapest World Aquatics Championships in the men's 200m freestyle (1:44.47).

The following year, in 2023, he added a bronze medal (1 minute 44.42 seconds) in the men's 200m freestyle at the Fukuoka, Japan Games, and in February this year, in the Doha, Qatar Games, he was the first to touch the touchpad with a time of 1 minute 44.75 seconds and even won the gold medal at the World Championships that he had been dreaming of.

In addition, at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held last year, he won six medals: two gold medals (men's 200m freestyle, 800m relay), two silver medals (400m medley relay, 400m relay), and two bronze medals (mixed medley relay, men's 100m freestyle).

Hwang Sun-woo, who has added experience to his passion, is full of confidence.

At the swimming team media day held at the Jincheon National Training Center on the 18th of last month, Hwang Sun-woo expressed his confidence by saying , "If my preliminary record for the 200m freestyle in Tokyo had been improved only in the final, I would have won a medal.

It's thanks to that experience that I became who Hwang Sun-woo is today.

I've gained enough racing experience."

Hwang Sun-woo, who is aiming to become the first Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal in 12 years since Park Taw-hwan (silver medals in the 200m and 400m freestyle) in 2012, has David Popovic (Romania) as his biggest rival.

Popovic, who set a new world junior record of 1 minute 42.97 seconds in the 200m freestyle at the 2022 European Championships at the age of 17, also won the gold medal in the 200m freestyle at the [Budapest World Championships](https://zb3.org/outlookindia/the-power-of-doosans-young-bullpen) that year, beating Hwang Sun-woo by more than a second.

1 minute 42.97 seconds is the fastest record in the world since full-body swimsuits were banned in 2009.

Popovic, who had been in a slump for a while, has been rapidly regaining his original form this year.

In May, Popovic won the 200m freestyle at the Mare Nostrum in Barcelona, ​​Spain, with a time of 1 minute 44.74 seconds, beating Hwang Sun-woo (1 minute 45.68 seconds) for second place.

Finally, on the 22nd of last month, he touched the touchpad in the men's 200m freestyle at the European Championships in Serbia with a time of 1 minute 43.13 seconds, becoming the first swimmer to break the '1 minute 44 second barrier' this year.

As of this year, Popovic is first in the men's 200m freestyle rankings with a time of 1 minute 43.13 seconds, followed by Lucas Martens (Germany, 1 minute 44.14 seconds) and Matthew Richards (Great Britain, 1 minute 44.69 seconds).

Hwang Sun-woo is tied for 4th place with Duncan Scott (Great Britain) with a time of 1:44.75 set at the Doha World Championships.

There are also many runners with times in the 1:44.89 range behind Hwang, such as Luke Hobson (USA, 1:44.96) and Danas Rapsis (Lithuania, 1:44.96).

That's why Hwang Sun-woo said, "It's hard to predict the Olympics because all the competitors' records are crowded together.

You don't get first place just because you have a good record.

There are runners who won Olympic gold medals with times in the late 1:44.

In the end, management is important.

My biggest goal is to keep breaking the 1:44.00 mark."

He also expressed his confidence, saying, "The atmosphere right now is unstoppable.

I've been focusing on the Olympics for the past three years and have gained experience on the podium in many international competitions.

I really want to stand on the Olympic podium for the first time in 12 years."

The preliminaries and semifinals of the men's 200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics, where Hwang Sun-woo is aiming for a medal, will be held at the La Defense Arena in Paris on the 28th, with the finals taking place in the afternoon of the 29th.

The men's 800m relay, where he will be swimming alongside the "golden generation" of Korean swimmers, including Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Provincial Office) and Lee Ho-jun (Jeju City Hall), is another event where Hwang Sun-woo is challenging for a medal.

The preliminaries of the men's 800m freestyle relay will be held on the morning of the 30th, with the finals taking place in the afternoon of the same day.

The men's 100m freestyle, which is still an event that [Hwang Sun-woo](https://www.nn.ru/user.php?user_id=1446647&page=blog&blog_id=3609498) is attached to, although it is somewhat outside the medal prediction range, will be divided into preliminaries and semifinals on the morning and afternoon of the 30th, with the finals taking place in the afternoon of the 31st.