Olympics: Sunwoo Hwang Sets WJR in 200 Freestyle At Front Of Youth Movement
Over the past several weeks, and for good reason, much has been made about the talent of surging youth David Popovici. At the recent European Junior Championships, the 16-year-old Romanian was sensational en route to a trifecta of freestyle titles and spectacular times in the 100 and 200 distances. But on the second day of preliminaries at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Popovici found himself with some company in the rising-star category.
Setting a world junior record and registering the only time under 1:45, Korea’s Sunwoo Hwang claimed the top seed in the 200 freestyle behind a time of 1:44.62. The 18-year-old Hwang was dominant in the third of five heats, where he finished ahead of Great Britain’s Tom Dean (1:45.24).
Popovici did his part for the young guns, as he raced to a mark of 1:45.32. Popovici flashed a beautiful stroke that looked effortless and belied what a mid-teen should possess. Popovici advanced to the semifinals as the fourth seed, behind Hwang, Brazil’s Fernando Scheffer (1:45.05) and Dean. Great Britain’s Duncan Scott stopped the clock in 1:45.37, the fifth-fastest performance of the session.
The battle for the eight slots in the final is going to be fierce, with 1:45-low seemingly needed to reach the medals race. The semifinals will include Russia’s Martin Malyutin (1:45.50) and Danas Rapsys (1:45.84), each of whom rebounded from poor showings in the 400 freestyle. For the United States, Townley Haas (1:45.86) and Kieran Smith (1:46.20) moved on.
Missing the semifinals in 17th was Japan’s Katsuhiro Matsumoto, a medal favorite leading into the Games.
Men’s 200 Freestyle
World Record: Paul Biedermann, Germany, 1:42.00 (2009)
Olympic Record: Michael Phelps, United States, 1:42.96 (2008)
Semifinalists
1. Sunwoo Hwang (Korea) 1:44.62
2. Fernando Scheffer (Brazil) 1:45.05
3. Tom Dean (Great Britain) 1:45.24
4. David Popovici (Romania) 1:45.32
5. Duncan Scott (Great Britain) 1:45.37
6. Martin Malyutin (Russia) 1:45.50
7. Stefano Ballo (Italy) 1:45.80
8. Thomas Neill (Australia) 1:45.81
9. Danas Rapsys (Lithuania) 1:45.84
10. Townley Haas (United States) 1:45.86
11. Kregor Zirk (Estonia) 1:46.10
12. Nandor Nemeth (Hungary) 1:46.19
13. Kieran Smith (United States) 1:46.20
14. Velimir Stjepanovic (Serbia) 1:46.26
15. Antonio Djakovic (Switzerland) 1:46.37
16. Stefano di Cola (Italy) 1:46.67