▲ South Korean swimmers Kim Woo-min, Yang Jae-hoon and Hwang Sun-woo (L to R) check their time after competing in the heats for the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 28, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea begins a heat of the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 28, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Yang Jae-hoon of South Korea competes in the heats for the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 28, 2023. (Yonhap)

swimming relay team-performance

S. Korean relay swimmers brimming with confidence after breaking nat'l record again

By Yoo Jee-ho

FUKUOKA, Japan, July 28 (Yonhap) -- After breaking their national record for the third time in three consecutive world championships races Friday, South Korean freestyle relay swimmers voiced confidence they can reach even greater heights.

The team of Hwang Sun-woo, Kim Woo-min, Yang Jae-hoon and Lee Ho-joon finished sixth in the heats for the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 7:06.82, a new national record by 0.11 second. As one of the top eight teams, South Korea will compete in the final set for Friday night at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka.

At last year's worlds in Budapest, South Korea -- with Lee Yoo-yeon in place of Yang then -- first set a national record with 7:08.49 in the heats. Then in the final, the team finished sixth overall in 7:06.93. It was the first appearance in any relay final by South Korea at a swimming world championships.

Considering that times usually improve from the heats to the next phase, the latest national record seems to be in jeopardy already.

"I want to thank my teammates for going to the final with such a good time," said Hwang, who won the 200m freestyle bronze medal Tuesday here. "We will try to be even better later today."

Lee Ho-joon also competed in the 200m freestyle final alongside Hwang and finished sixth. Kim had earlier raced in the 400m and 800m freestyle. Kim finished a career-high fifth in the 400m and broke the national record in the 800m.

Yang did not compete in any individual races and made his first appearance in Fukuoka in the relay heats.

"We're going to work around the edges a little more and try to post an even better time in the final," said Yang, the senior member of the team at 25.

Lee said grabbing the ticket to the final should ease some of the pressure on the team.

"The three of us had done a lot of events before this, and this was the first one for Jae-hoon. I am sure he was pretty nervous," Lee said. "Thankfully, we were able to post a strong time. We should be able to relax a bit more this evening."

Kim agreed that some of the weight had been lifted off the team's collective shoulders with the ticket to the final secured.

Can South Korea break the record again on the same day?

"We'll give it a try," Kim said with a smile.

(END)

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