1 Minute 45.53 Seconds... Pace Control for Final Performance
Medal Key is the Kick... Must Endure the Last 100m Section
Hwang Sun-woo (Seoul Physical Education High School) has signaled a surprise in his first-ever Olympics. On the 26th, at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan, he advanced to the final by finishing 6th among sixteen swimmers in the men's 200m freestyle semifinal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. His time was 1 minute 45.53 seconds. He adjusted his pace to perform well in the final.
Hwang Sun-woo set a new personal best of 1 minute 44.62 seconds in the heats the day before, breaking his previous best (1 minute 44.96 seconds) set at the national swimming team selection meet in May. He also rewrote the Korean record, shaving 0.18 seconds off Park Tae-hwan’s 1 minute 44.80 seconds set at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. His time is faster than Sun Yang’s gold medal-winning time (1 minute 44.65 seconds) at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
In fact, the record-breaking was anticipated. The indoor swimming pool at Jeju Sports Complex, where the national team selection meet was held in May, has a depth of 1.8 meters. The larger water waves and lower buoyancy make it difficult to achieve good times. The Tokyo Aquatics Centre pool is 3 meters deep, 1.2 meters deeper, meeting Olympic standard depth, which is advantageous for record-breaking.
There is also anticipation for a new Korean record in the 100m freestyle. Hwang Sun-woo has already surpassed Park Tae-hwan in this event. Last November, at the national swimming team selection meet, he set a new Korean record (48.25 seconds) and won first place. He improved on Park Tae-hwan’s previous Korean record of 48.42 seconds, set at the 2014 New South Wales (NSW) State Open Championship in Australia, by 0.17 seconds. In the May national team selection meet, he recorded an even faster time of 48.04 seconds.
The secret to his record improvements lies in the loping stroke and powerful kick. Hwang Sun-woo adds strength to his right-arm stroke, varying the rotation speed. This technique was not learned from anyone but naturally developed since childhood. Although this stroke style deviates from the standard and may appear offbeat, it increases the time spent underwater, minimizing water resistance and allowing longer stroke intervals. Therefore, it is mainly used by middle- and long-distance swimmers. Hwang Sun-woo’s style is similar to that of the “eternal sprinter” Pieter van den Hoogenband (Netherlands). He increases speed with fast strokes while compensating for left-right imbalance.
The loping stroke demands strong stamina and solid muscle strength. Because it is an asymmetrical stroke, it consumes a lot of energy. However, Hwang Sun-woo avoids weight training for gaining mass. Since he is still growing, he plans to undertake systematic training after his height is fully developed. For now, he compensates for weaknesses with smooth transitions and strong kicks. Generally, kicks account for 30% of propulsion in freestyle. Hwang Sun-woo kicks with a 4 to 6-foot splash. At the national team selection meet, his spurt created water spray over 1 meter high.
The key to winning a medal in his first Olympics is how well he can maintain that power. In the heats, Hwang Sun-woo passed the first 50m segment (24.08 seconds) faster than the world record pace but his speed gradually declined afterward. The 50?100m segment was 26.04 seconds, 100?150m was 26.89 seconds, and 150m to finish was 27.61 seconds. He needs to endure the last 100m segment better in the final.
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