KOR
▲ South Korea's Kim Young-beom competes in the heats of the men's 100m freestyle at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on the 20th.
Sprint rising star Kim Young-beom and South Korean swimming ace Hwang Sun-woo emerged as the first medalists for South Korean swimming by finishing second and third, respectively, in the men's 100m freestyle final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre today (the 20th).
Kim Young-beom claimed the silver medal with a time of 47.65 seconds.
Hwang Sun-woo, who raced alongside him, touched the pad in 47.79 seconds to secure the bronze medal.
▲ Hwang Sun-woo warms up ahead of the race.
With this, South Korean swimming got off to a great start on the first day of the competition's swimming events by simultaneously harvesting silver and bronze medals in the men's freestyle sprint event.
The gold medal went to Pan Zhanle, the world record holder and the undisputed powerhouse in this event.
Pan Zhanle crossed the finish line in 47.61 seconds, achieving his second consecutive Asian Games title following the Hangzhou Games.
A breathtaking battle unfolded, with just a 0.04-second gap between him and runner-up Kim Young-beom.
Kim Young-beom displayed remarkable closing power, chasing right up to world champion Pan Zhanle with an explosive final spurt to capture the silver medal.
Hwang Sun-woo, who previously set an Asian record at this very venue during the Tokyo Olympics, also swam fiercely to touch the pad in 47.79 seconds—0.18 seconds behind Pan—to secure his second consecutive bronze medal in the 100m freestyle following the Hangzhou Games.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
