Hwang Sunwoo Sets Another World Record in 200m Freestyle... 1:44.96

Record Set for 50m Freestyle Tokyo Olympic Qualification on the 17th

On the afternoon of the 16th, at the indoor swimming pool inside Jeju Sports Complex, Hwang Sun-woo (Seoul Physical Education High School) showed a surprised expression after checking his time in the men's 200m freestyle final at the 2021 National Swimming Team Selection Competition. Hwang Sun-woo took first place with a new world junior record of 1 minute 44.96 seconds.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Hwang Sun-woo (18, Seoul Physical Education High School) set another world junior record in the men's 200-meter freestyle.

On the 16th, at the 2021 National Swimming Team Selection Competition held at the Jeju Sports Complex Indoor Swimming Pool, Hwang Sun-woo won first place in the men's 200m freestyle final with a time of 1 minute 44.96 seconds. This is also a world junior record. Following his establishment of the world junior record (1 minute 45.92 seconds) as the first Korean swimmer at the national team selection competition last November, he broke it again after six months. Hwang Sun-woo is the first Korean swimmer to hold a world record among both juniors and seniors.

Hwang Sun-woo's time on this day was only 0.16 seconds slower than the Korean record of 1 minute 44.80 seconds set by Park Tae-hwan when he won the gold medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Only Park Tae-hwan and Hwang Sun-woo have recorded times in the 1 minute 44 seconds range in the men's 200m freestyle.

By surpassing the Tokyo Olympics A qualifying standard of 1 minute 47.02 seconds with this record, Hwang Sun-woo also secured a spot for the Tokyo Olympics. Previously, Hwang had earned a Tokyo Olympics qualification by setting a Korean record in the 100m freestyle (48.04 seconds). On the 17th, he will compete in the 50m freestyle final, aiming to secure an additional Olympic qualification. He ranked first overall in the 50m freestyle preliminaries held on the 16th with a time of 22.39 seconds. The Tokyo Olympics A qualifying standard for this event is 22.01 seconds.

Meanwhile, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) has been tracking world junior records for male and female swimmers under 18 years old (based on birth year) since March 2014 to motivate promising athletes. Since Hwang Sun-woo will turn 18 on the 21st, this year is his last chance to set a new world junior record.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.