The South Korean men's 800m freestyle relay team claimed the bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

South Korea finished third with a time of 7 minutes and 6.76 seconds in the final of the men's 800m relay held today at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan.

Having won the gold medal in this event at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games to top the podium in a swimming relay event for the first time in Asian Games history, South Korea fell short of winning back-to-back titles but managed to reach the podium for the second consecutive tournament.

At the previous Hangzhou Games final, Yang Jae-hoon (Gangwon State, Korea), Lee Ho-joon (Jeju City Hall), Kim Woo-min, and Hwang Sun-woo (both from Gangwon State, Korea) combined for a time of 7 minutes and 1.73 seconds, setting both Asian and tournament records to win the gold medal.

In the preliminary heats held this morning, the team of Kim Min-seop (Gyeongbuk Sport Council), Yang Jae-hoon, Kim Jun-woo (Gangwon State Sports Council), and Lee Ho-joon combined for 7 minutes and 14.35 seconds, advancing to the final in third place overall.

Thanks to this, Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min were able to get sufficient rest and prepare for the 800m relay final.

The South Korea 800m relay team entrusted Kim Jun-woo, who recorded the best performance in the heats, as the leadoff swimmer.

Kim Woo-min then took to the water as the second swimmer, followed by Lee Ho-joon as the third, and Hwang Sun-woo as the final anchor swimmer to put on a powerful display.

While Japan took an early lead from the beginning of the race, China consistently chased Japan with a margin of about one second.

South Korea maintained third place with a slight gap behind the top two.

China secured the gold medal and set a new Asian record as their final swimmer, Zhang Zhanshuo, powered past Japan to finish in 7 minutes and 0.17 seconds.

Japan crossed the finish line in 7 minutes and 1.05 seconds to settle for the silver medal.

(Photo: Yonhap News)