Major Potential: South Korea Has Flashed Steady Growth in Freestyle Events
Over the course of the last four years, South Korea has quietly built a dangerous 800 freestyle relay. While consistently lowering its national record, South Korea has reached new international heights, with the core of the relay remaining largely the same. The movement has made the country an international factor.
In 2007, Park Tae-hwan broke out onto the World Championships stage to claim gold in the 400 freestyle, along with earning bronze in the 200 freestyle. He backed that performance up in 2008 with Olympic gold in the 400 free and silver in the 200 distance.
He once again won gold in the 400 at the 2011 World Champs in Shanghai. At the 2012 London Olympics, Park grabbed two silver medalss, once again in his signature 200 and 400 freestyles. Winning 32 international medals during a decade on the world scene, he remains one of the most successful South Korean swimmers in history, and a national hero for young South Korean swimmers.
Tokyo Olympics
Hwang Sun-Woo; Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
At the Tokyo Olympics, Lee Yoo-yeon, Hwang Sun-woo, Kim Woo-min, and Lee Ho-joon combined for a time of 7:15.03 in the 800 freestyle relay. That time represented a South Korean national record and netted the squad a 13th-place finish.
Lee Yoo-yeon – 1:49.55
Hwang Sun-woo – 1:48.88
Kim Woo-min – 1:49.24
Lee Ho-joon – 1:47.36
Final time – 7:15.03
Of those four men, Hwang Sun-woo was the only South Korean man to make an individual final, swimming a 1:45.26 in the 200 freestyle to place seventh. His prelims time of 1:44.62 would have earned him a bronze medal. Hwang was also fifth in the final of the 100 freestyle, where he clocked 47.82.
2022 World Championships
Hwang Sun-woo upgraded to a silver medal in the 200 freestyle at the World Championships in 2022, swimming a national record of 1:44.47. His countryman, Kim Woo-min, made his first individual final, placing sixth in the 400 free. Meanwhile, South Korea’s 800 freestyle relay saw a meteoric rise compared to the prior year, as it lowered the national record twice to finish sixth in 7:06.93. Great Britain won bronze in 7:04.00.
Across the board, the entire relay saw major improvements compared to the Tokyo Games.
Hwang Sun-woo – 1:45.30
Kim Woo-min – 1:46.57
Lee Yoo-yeon – 1:48.28
Lee Ho-joon – 1:46.78
Final time – 7:06.93
Even with that level of improvement, there was clear room for additional growth, as Hwang led off nearly a second slower than his individual 200 free time.
Hwang also won gold in the 200 freestyle at the World Short Course Champs in 2021 and 2022. His 2022 time of 1:39.72 ranks him third all-time.
2023 World Championships and Asian Games
Woomin Kim of Korea competes in the swimming 400m Freestyle Men Final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at La Defense Arena in Paris (France), July 27, 2024.
In 2023, Hwang finished third in the 200 freestyle at Worlds, clipping his national record with a swim of 1:44.42. Countryman Lee Ho-joon also advanced to the final, finishing sixth in a 1:46.04. More, 400 free specialist Kim Woo-min finished fifth in a historically fast final, going 3:43.92. That time would have finished in bronze medal position at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the 800 freestyle relay, three of the four athletes from the prior two years remained. This time, Yang Jae-hoon swapped in for Lee Yoo-yeon. The medal potential was even clearer in the final, as the quartet combined for a mark of 7:04.07, another national record.
Hwang Sun-woo – 1:46.35
Kim Woo-min – 1:44.84
Yang Jae-hoon – 1:48.35
Lee Ho-joon – 1:44.53
Final time – 7:04.07
Hwang led off nearly two seconds slower than his bronze medal winning time from the individual final. Had he matched his national record, South Korea would have swam to a 7:02.14. Australia came away with bronze in a 7:02.13.
Asian Games
Just a few months later, the Asian Games brought more opportunity. Kim Woo-min won three individual medals, claiming gold in the 400 and 800 freestyles, while finishing with a silver medal in the 1500 free. Hwang Sun-woo added bronze in the 100 freestyle and took gold in the 200 free. Lee Ho-joon claimed bronze behind him in the 200.
After dropping 11 seconds in the 800 freestyle relay in just two years, the four men combined for a three-second drop. With a performance of 7:01.73, Korea obliterated its national record and firmly put itself in contention for an Olympic medal in Paris.
Yang Jae-hoon – 1:46.83
Lee Ho-joon – 1:45.36
Kim Woo-min – 1:44.50
Hwang Sun-woo – 1:45.04
Final time – 7:01.73
2024 Doha Worlds
At the 2024 edition of the World Champs, the fireworks began on the first night of competition. Swimming out of Lane Three, Kim Woo-min blasted out to a decisive lead in the final of the 400 freestyle. He held on over the back half of the race to claim gold in 3:42.71, just .15 ahead of Australia’s Elijah Winnington.
A few days later, Hwang Sun-woo swam to a 47.93 in the 100 freestyle to finish fifth. After claiming silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023, he finished a touch slower than his national record to claim gold in the 200 freestyle in 1:44.75.
In their strongest international showing, the same four men from the 2023 Worlds and Asian Games won silver in the 800 free relay, touching just a tenth behind China. Both teams battled it out down the stretch, highlighted by Hwang Sun-woo swimming the fastest split of the field in 1:43.76.
Yang Jae-hoon – 1:47.78
Kim Woo-min – 1:44.93
Lee Ho-joon – 1:45.47
Hwang Sun-woo – 1:43.76
Final time – 7:01.94
Just six months out from the Paris Olympics, the stage was set for South Korea’s first Olympic relay medal in history.
Paris Olympics
In Paris, Kim Woo-min got things started with his first Olympic medal in the 400 freestyle. Kim narrowly won bronze in a 3:42.50, .14 ahead of fourth place. In the 200 freestyle, both Kim and Hwang were eliminated in the semifinals, finishing ninth and 12th, respectively.
After qualifying in seventh for the 800 freestyle relay final, things didn’t come together for the South Korean quartet, as it finished a distant sixth, more than five seconds away from bronze.
Yang Jae-Hoon – 1:49.84
Lee Ho-joon – 1:46.45
Kim Woo-min – 1:44.98
Hwang Sun-woo – 1:45.99
Final time – 7:07.26
While the final time was nearly six seconds slower than their national record, the sixth-place finish for South Korea was cause for celebration. All four of the men on this relay are young, and easily have another Olympic quad to show their full potential. While the Paris Olympics did not pan out, the 2025 World Champs in Singapore are just around the corner, and before we know it, the Los Angeles Olympics will be upon us.
Look for South Korea to be a factor.
Its development suggests as much.