▲ The men's 4x100m freestyle relay preliminaries at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games swimming competition held at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on the 24th
The South Korean national swimming team has advanced to the final of the men's 4x100m freestyle relay after finishing the preliminaries in 4th place overall.
In the first heat of the men's 4x100m freestyle relay preliminaries at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan today (the 24th), South Korea clocked 3:19.55 to finish 1st in their heat and 4th overall across the two heats, securing a ticket to the final where the top 10 teams compete.
Despite suffering from a shoulder injury, Kim Woo-min (Gangwon State Government) stepped up to swim the first leg to help manage his teammates' stamina, completing his 100m split in 50.01 seconds.
Following him, the second swimmer Ji Yu-chan (Daegu Metropolitan City Government) touched the pad in 49.78 seconds, the third swimmer Lee Ho-joon (Jeju City Hall) in 49.93 seconds, and the final anchor Kim Min-sub (Gyeongbuk Sports Council) in 49.83 seconds.
Due to not being in peak physical condition, Kim Woo-min recorded a time in the 50-second range for his 100m split.
China took 1st place overall in the preliminaries with a time of 3:18.76, while Japan finished 2nd in 3:19.00, and Kazakhstan placed 3rd in 3:19.46.
South Korea will go for medals in the final to be held this afternoon.
In the men's 50m butterfly preliminaries, Yang Jae-hoon (Gangwon State Government) placed 4th overall with 23.52 seconds to secure a spot in the top-10 final, while Ji Yu-chan (Daegu Metropolitan City Government) finished 14th with 23.93 seconds.
In the women's 200m breaststroke preliminaries, Park Si-eun (Gangwon State Sports Council) recorded 2:26.57 to finish 2nd overall, comfortably earning a ticket to the 10-swimmer final.
In the men's 200m breaststroke preliminaries, Cho Sung-jae (Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps) smoothly advanced to the top-10 final, finishing 4th overall with 2:11.39.
In the women's 4x200m freestyle relay preliminaries featuring Kim Yun-hee (Anyang City Hall), Kim Chae-yoon (Daejeon Physical Education High School), Lee Song-eun (Jeonbuk One Sports Club), and Cho Hyun-ju (Gyeongbuk Provincial Government), South Korea finished 3rd overall with 8:16.64, following Japan (7:59.57) and China (8:09.90) to advance to the final.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.