Freestyle 200m Medal Hunt Ends in Disappointment
New Hope for Swimming with Korea's National Record in First Appearance
For Hwang Sun-woo (18, Seoul Physical Education High School), the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is nothing short of a 'global showcase.' Although he failed to win a medal in the 200m freestyle, that much is certain. Until the national swimming team selection competition in November last year, he was relatively unknown. While he was good among his peers, there was one swimmer better than him each at Seoul Physical Education Middle School and Seoul Physical Education High School. He lacked strength and was not particularly athletic. Even for a swimmer, his lung capacity was small. Officials from the Korea Institute of Sport Science measured his physical abilities at the end of last year and could hardly believe their eyes.
Lung capacity is closely related to stamina. On the 26th, Hwang Sun-woo exposed his weakness in the 200m freestyle semifinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He touched the pad at 1 minute 45.53 seconds, 0.91 seconds slower than his preliminary time of 1 minute 44.62 seconds. He qualified for the final in 6th place overall. He had swum at full power the previous evening and then competed again the next morning, which took a toll on his stamina. The final was no different. He maintained the lead up to the 150m mark but failed to sprint in the last 50m. International competitions have many races with tight schedules, demanding stamina management and recovery even from top-level athletes.
Hwang Sun-woo is still inexperienced. The same goes for race strategy. In the preliminaries, he passed the 50-100m segment in 26.04 seconds and the 100-150m segment in 26.89 seconds. In the last 50m, he recorded a slower 27.61 seconds. In the semifinals, this last segment improved to 27.34 seconds. However, the 50-100m segment slowed to 26.89 seconds, making his qualification for the final uneasy. Due to decreased stamina, checking split times and preparing for a final sprint backfired. Perhaps aware of this, Hwang exerted full effort up to 150m in the final. However, he failed to sprint at the end, recording a poor 28.70 seconds in the last 50m. He finished 7th with a time of 1 minute 45.26 seconds.
Hwang Sun-woo has almost no experience in international competitions. Until 2019, he did not achieve notable results in domestic competitions. For him, the COVID-19 pandemic that arrived the following year became a turning point. The rigorous schedule of competing in all domestic competitions disappeared. Competitions were rarely held, and swimming pools were closed for a while. Considering his lack of stamina, Hwang balanced rest and training. As a result, he made rapid progress in his skills. Now, he just needs to gain experience.
On that evening at 7:16 PM, Hwang Sun-woo will participate in the 100m freestyle preliminaries. He said, "My best record is in the 200m freestyle, but I feel more attached to the 100m freestyle," adding, "They say Asian swimmers with less favorable physical conditions find it hard to post fast times in short-distance events. This makes me more determined to do better in the 100m." The 100m freestyle is an event that requires almost no race strategy. You just swim full out, focusing straight ahead. The chance for a medal still remains.
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