After wobbly early showing, Hwang Sun-woo throws down gauntlet at swimming worlds

▲ Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea celebrates after winning his heat in the semifinals of the men's 200-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea prepares for the semifinals of the men's 200-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea competes in the semifinals of the men's 200-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 24, 2023. (Yonhap)
▲ Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea takes a start in the semifinals of the men's 200-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 24, 2023. (Yonhap)

swimmer-performance

After wobbly early showing, Hwang Sun-woo throws down gauntlet at swimming worlds

By Yoo Jee-ho

FUKUOKA, Japan, July 24 (Yonhap) -- After nearly getting eliminated in the heats for the men's 200-meter freestyle at the swimming world championships in Japan on Monday morning, Hwang Sun-woo wasn't going to pace himself anymore.

In the semifinals held later the same day, Hwang turned on his jet from the get-go and never let up, coming out on top in his group and finishing third overall at 1:45.07. The reigning silver medalist now has a chance to win his second straight medal.

In the morning session, Hwang only tied for 13th place, just 0.01 second faster than the 16th and last qualifier at 1:46.69. Hwang later admitted to pacing himself too much over the final 100m and vowed not to make the same mistake in the semifinals.

"I made things a bit uncomfortable in the heats, and so I didn't want to take any chances," Hwang said after his semifinal race at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in the port city of Fukuoka. "I wanted to be leading the way from start to finish."

Hwang had the fastest reaction time in his group at 0.63 second and had the fastest splits at every 50m point.

With some dicey moments now out of the way, Hwang shifted his focus back on adding another world championships medal to his growing resume.

"I came here with a goal of reaching the podium," Hwang said. "A lot of the guys in the final have personal best times in the 1:44 territory. I will try to prepare as well as I can and break into the 1:43 range. Whenever I come to a major event, my goal is to improve on my personal record."

Hwang's personal best is 1:44.47, set while winning the silver at last year's worlds.

"The level of competition in the 200m freestyle has gone up a great deal," Hwang said. "You could win a medal with 1:44 times in the past, but that's not the case anymore. I can't afford to let my guard down tomorrow."

Hwang will be joined by countryman Lee Ho-joon, who earned his first final berth by finishing sixth in the semifinals Monday.

Hwang and Lee are the first set of South Korean teammates to compete in the same final in any swimming event at the worlds.

"I am so excited to see him in the final," Hwang said, beaming. "Hopefully, we will feed off each other's energy in the final tomorrow."

David Popovici of Romania, the defending champion, won the semifinals in 1:44.70. In a minor upset, Pan Zhanle of China missed out on the final after tying for 10th in 1:46.05.

Pan arrived in Fukuoka with the second-fastest 200m freestyle time in the world this season at 1:44.65.

"Zhanle is such a great guy, and we always greet each other and pull for each other," Hwang said of his Chinese rival. "It's a shame he didn't make it."

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