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| ▲ Kim Woo-min of South Korea competes in the heats for the men's 400-meter freestyle swimming at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 23, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Kim Woo-min of South Korea checks his time after competing in the heats for the men's 400-meter freestyle swimming at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 23, 2023. (Yonhap) |
swimmer-worlds
Kim Woo-min sets personal best in reaching 400m freestyle final at worlds
By Yoo Jee-ho
FUKUOKA, Japan, July 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Kim Woo-min reached his second consecutive final in the men's 400-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships on Sunday, establishing a new personal best in the process.
Kim finished sixth in the heats at the World Aquatics Championships in the Japanese port city of Fukuoka, with a time of 3:44.52. The top eight among 55 swimmers advanced to the final scheduled for Sunday evening.
Kim finished sixth at last year's world championships in Budapest.
Kim's previous personal best had been 3:45.59 from the national team trials in March this year.
Before leaving for Fukuoka on Thursday, Kim had said he would try to shave at least one second off his personal best, and he accomplished that in the heats.
"It feels great to have this record. I feel like my hard work has paid off," Kim told Yonhap News Agency afterward. "I feel quite proud, and this will give me an extra push."
Kim, 21, will try to become just the second South Korean, after Park Tae-hwan in 2007 and 2011, to win a world championships medal in the men's 400m freestyle.
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