Lee Ju-ho, 10th in Heats Advances to Semifinals... Korea's First Backstroke Final Challenge [Paris Olympics]

200m Backstroke Preliminary Heat Time 1:57.39
10th Place Among 29 Competitors

Lee Ju-ho (29, Seogwipo City Hall), who competed in the men's 200m backstroke event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, advanced to the semifinals.

Lee Ju-ho is cutting through the water in the men's 100m backstroke preliminary heat at the 2024 Paris Olympics held on the 28th (local time) at La D?fense Arena in Paris, France. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 31st (Korean time), Lee Ju-ho ranked 10th out of 29 participants with a time of 1:57.39 in the men's 200m backstroke heats held at the La D?fense Swimming Pool in Paris, France, securing a spot in the semifinals, which are reserved for the top 16 swimmers.

This marks the first time a Korean swimmer has reached the final stage at the World Championships. The men's 200m backstroke semifinals will take place on August 1 at 4:47 AM.

Previously, Lee Ju-ho set a Korean record of 1:56.77 in the 200m backstroke heats at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, finishing 4th. However, he placed 11th with a time of 1:56.93 in the semifinals and did not advance to the finals.

In his second Olympic appearance, Lee Ju-ho is aiming to become the first Korean backstroker to reach an Olympic final.

In the heats on the same day, second-generation Korean Australian swimmer Lee Se-beom recorded a time of 1:58.30, finishing 18th and narrowly missing out on the semifinals. Lucas Martens (Germany), who won gold in the men's 400m freestyle, advanced to the 200m backstroke semifinals in 2nd place with a time of 1:56.89. The fastest qualifier was Roman Mityukov (Switzerland), who posted a time of 1:56.62.