I want to fall asleep with Hwang Sun-woo and a medal around my neck

Kim Woo-min dreams of a happy night

South Korean swimming’s ‘second’ Olympic medalist Kim Woo-min, 23, and his close brother and roommate Hwang Sun-woo, 22, became the first swimmers in Korean swimming history to reach the semifinals of the Olympic Games in the same event together.

Kim hopes to become the first Korean swimmer to win a medal together at the same Olympic Games.

Kim touched the touchpad in the second heat of the men’s 200-meter freestyle at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the La Défense Arena in Paris, France, on Monday (Aug. 28) with a time of 1:46.64.

Kim finished fourth in heat two of the 200-meter freestyle and 12th out of 25 swimmers to punch his ticket to the semifinals, where the top 16 spots are awarded. He will join Hwang Sun-woo in the semifinals on July 29 at 3:46 a.m. KST.

“If I do well, I think I can reach the 200m freestyle final with Hwang Sun-woo,” Kim said in the Mix Zone interview after qualifying for the semifinals. ‘I will focus on the semifinals and try to reach the final with a good time,’ he added.

Kim touched the touchpad in 3:42.50 in the 400m freestyle final the day before. He finished third out of eight swimmers in the final, behind Lukas Martens (GER – 3:41.68) and Elijah Winnington (AUS – 3:42.21), to claim bronze.

In Paris, Kim Woo-min fulfilled a longtime dream: an Olympic podium. Kim’s Olympic medal follows his triple gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last September (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, and 800m freestyle relay) and his victory at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, in February of this year, which cemented his status as a “world-class” athlete.

Kim Woo-min became the second South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal in history. This comes 12 years after Park Tae-hwan won gold in the 400-meter freestyle and silver in the 200-meter freestyle at Beijing 2008 and silver in the 400-meter freestyle and 200-meter freestyle at London 2012.

Kim didn’t have time to bask in the glow of his bronze medal, and after a short rest and sleep, he immediately competed in the 200m freestyle heats the next day. Despite the challenging conditions, Kim proved to be competitive in an event that was not her main event.

“In the last 50 meters (of the 400m freestyle final), I felt like my limbs were burning,” Kim said after his bronze medal the day before.

But the Olympic medal gave Kim a huge boost of energy. She woke up on the morning of the 28th in good spirits and walked to the pool with a light step.

“I was definitely tired, but I think the afterglow (of the bronze medal) is still lingering. I woke up this morning and saw myself smiling, and I prepared for the 200m freestyle preliminaries,” he said. ”My teammates gave me a lot of congratulations and encouragement, and I would like to go for a medal with them (in the 800m freestyle relay on the 30th). I am hoping for another miracle.”

Kim Woo-min also sent a message of support to Hwang Sun-woo, saying that he was eager to see him stand on the podium in the 200-meter freestyle. Hwang 안전놀이터 touched the touchpad in the fourth heat of the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:46.13. He finished fourth overall and advanced to the semifinals by a comfortable margin.

This is the first time Korean swimming has ever had two semifinalists in the same event at an Olympic Games, an incredible feat. Hwang Sun-woo and Lee Ho-joon reached the final together at last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, but in the most prestigious Olympic event, the management event is a more valuable achievement.

The Paris Games confirmed that Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min, the “pillars” of Korean swimming, have the ability to compete with swimming powers like Great Britain in the 200m men’s freestyle.

Hwang specializes in the 200-meter freestyle. He won gold at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha, Qatar, in February. Aside from her Olympic medal, she has stood on the podium at every major international competition. He has spent the last three years honing his skills to complete the final piece of the puzzle in Paris.

Hwang and Kim will compete side-by-side in the semifinals at 3:46 a.m. on the 29th. If they finish in the top eight, they will advance to the final. The men’s 200-meter freestyle final will be held a day later at 3:40 a.m. on the 30th.

“Hwang Sun-woo swam such a good time in the morning and I think he’ll be even better in the afternoon,” said Kim Woo-min. ‘They’ve been supporting each other, encouraging each other and pushing each other,’ he said.

“Before the Olympics, I said that if I won a medal in Paris, I would sleep with it around my neck, and I almost did last night. Luckily, I carefully placed it next to my bed and fell asleep,” he said. ”If Hwang Sun-woo wins a medal (in the 200m freestyle), I will definitely sleep with it around my neck.”

Kim said he has no regrets about not competing in the 800m freestyle. After winning the event at last year’s Asian Games, he had planned to try to make a run for the podium at the Olympics, but decided to focus more on the 800-meter freestyle relay.

“I was a little greedy for the 800m freestyle at the Paris Games, but I didn’t want to hurt the 800m freestyle relay (with my poor performance),” Kim said, adding, ”The 800m freestyle is very exhausting. I would have been greedy if the dates didn’t overlap (with the 800m freestyle relay), but it’s a shame that they were scheduled on the same day.”