We expect ‘golden’ in swimming and track and field as well.
Swimming and track and field are basic sports, but they are one of Korea’s weak links. However, the Hangzhou Asian Games are different. Lee Ki-heung, president of the Korea Sports Council, also expressed expectations, saying, “Thanks to changes in the sports system, we are starting to see results in basic sports and a generational change is also taking place.”
First of all, we expect the best swimming performance of all time. They are called the so-called ‘golden generation’. At the center are Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Provincial Office). Hwang Seon-woo is a representative Korean swimmer. He aims to win three gold medals in the competition, including the 100m and 200m freestyle and the 800m team relay.
In particular, in the 100m freestyle, she will have to compete head-on with China’s Fan Zhanle. Fan Zhanle, who holds the home advantage, is a strong competitor to Hwang Sun-woo. Van Zanler’s skills have also improved significantly to the extent that he ranked 4th in the 100m freestyle at the Fukuoka World Championships.
Kim Woo-min set his goal of winning his 4th gold medal. Kim Woo-min will challenge for gold medals in the 400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle and even the team event. Kim Woo-min broke personal records in both the 400m and 800m freestyle at the Fukuoka World Championships held last July. Kim Woo-min also revealed his bold aspirations, saying, “I will make a spectacular debut (at the Asian Games).”
Kim Woo-min, the national swimming team, is answering questions from reporters at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games D-30 Media Day event held at the Jincheon National Athletes’ Village in North Chungcheong Province on the 24th. 2023. 8. 24. Jincheon | Reporter Park Jin-up upandup@sportsseoul.com
Kim Woo-min, the national swimming team, is publicly training at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games D-30 Media Day event held at the Jincheon National Athletes Village in North Chungcheong Province on the 24th. 2023. 8. 24. Jincheon | Reporter Park Jin-up upandup@sportsseoul.com
Above all, the 800m relay, in which Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min are likely to participate, is one of the events that the national team has focused on for a long time. Along with Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min, Yang Jae-hoon (Gangwon Provincial Office) and Lee Ho-jun (Daegu City Hall) are expected to participate. The national team aims to win its first Asian Games team gold medal.안전놀이터
Even the highest gold medal ever is not a dream. Winning 4 gold medals (3 silver medals, 6 bronze medals) at the 2010 Guangzhou Games was the best performance at the Asian Games. The 2006 Doha Games set a record for the most medals ever (18), but there were only 3 gold medals (2 silver medals and 13 bronze medals). At the 2014 Incheon Games, she only got a ‘no gold’, and at the 2018 Jakarta/Palembang Games, Kim Seo-young (Gyeongbuk Provincial Office) barely saved her face with a gold medal in the women’s 200m individual medley.
There are strong candidates for gold medals in track and field as well. This is high jumper Woo Sang-hyuk (Yongin City Hall). Sanghyuk Woo has proven himself to be effective not only in Asia but also on the world stage. He has grown rapidly since fourth place (2m35) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He didn’t care about the location. He performed well not only at the World Indoor Championships (gold medal) but also at last year’s World Athletics Championships (silver medal).
And on the 17th (Korean time), he won the ‘World Association of Athletics Federations Diamond League Final’ by exceeding his personal outdoor best record of 2m35.
Woo Sang-hyuk’s competitor is Mutaz Essa Barsim (Qatar). Barshim also won two consecutive gold medals at the Asian Games, at the 2010 Guangzhou and 2014 Incheon Games. He did not participate in the 2018 Jakarta/Palembang competition due to an ankle injury. At that time, Woo Sang-hyuk won a silver medal with a record of 2m 28. Even in this season’s best record, Barshim is ahead of Woo Sang-hyuk (2m33) with 2m36. The personal best records are 2m43m for Barsim and 2m36m for Sanghyuk Woo.
If Woo Sang-hyuk wins the gold medal, he will become the first Asian Games men’s high jump gold medalist in 21 years since Jin-taek Lee, who won gold at the 2002 Busan Games.
Meanwhile, modern pentathlon, in which one athlete competes in all of fencing, swimming, horseback riding, and laser running (track and field + shooting), is also a strong candidate for a gold medal. In this competition, the men’s and women’s team competition has been revived, with a total of four gold medals at stake. Korea is challenging to dominate all sports. Modern pentathlon ‘signature’ Jeon Woong-tae is aiming for not only his second consecutive individual victory at the Asian Games but also two gold medals.