▲ Kim Seung-won poses with her Youth Olympic medals.
Kim Seung-won (16, Gyeonggi Sports High School), a rising star in South Korean women's swimming, has successfully concluded her competition schedule at the 2026 Dakar Summer Youth Olympics by winning silver medals in the women's 50m and 100m backstroke.
Competing in the women's 50m backstroke final held in Dakar, Senegal, on November 5 local time, Kim claimed the silver medal with a time of 28.21 seconds.
Having previously secured a silver medal in the women's 100m backstroke final on November 3 with a time of 1:00.25, Kim harvested two silver medals at this tournament, proving her competitiveness against world-class youth athletes.
Following her silver medal and national record-breaking performance in the women's 50m backstroke at the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships, as well as winning four bronze medals in the women's 50m, 100m, and relay events at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Kim is growing into the next-generation leading figure in South Korean women's backstroke.
In particular, despite the demanding schedule of competing consecutively in the Asian Games and the Youth Olympics, she demonstrated consistent performance by reaching the podium in both events.
Jung Chang-hoon, President of the Korea Swimming Federation, stated, "I send my congratulations and encouragement to athlete Kim Seung-won, who has achieved valuable results with outstanding performances in consecutive international competitions. We will do our best in athlete development and support so that promising talents leading the future of South Korean swimming can grow further on the world stage."
The Korea Swimming Federation stated that Kim's latest achievement served as an opportunity to reaffirm the international competitiveness of South Korean women's backstroke, and plans to actively support the continuous growth and reinforcement of international competitiveness for promising athletes moving forward.
(Photo provided by the Korea Swimming Federation, Yonhap News)
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