Korean freestyle swimmer Hwang Sun-woo showcased an impressive performance at the National Swimming Championships in Gwangju, establishing a new season high in his main event, the men’s 200-meter freestyle race. Hwang secured victory with a time of 1:44.61, surpassing his previous season best of 1:45.36 achieved at the national team trials in March. Notably, Hwang’s time is also the fastest in the world for 2023, surpassing the 1:44.65 set by Pan Zhanle of China on May 4.
Hwang currently holds the South Korean national record in the 200m freestyle, set at 1:44.47 during his silver medal-winning performance at the 2022 world championships in Budapest. While Hwang expressed happiness at achieving the best time of the season, he also expressed slight disappointment at not breaking the national record in this particular race. He had prepared diligently for the competition and aimed to improve his 200m time.메이저사이트
Looking ahead, Hwang will strive to secure his second consecutive medal at the upcoming world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, scheduled for July. He will face tough competition from reigning world champion David Popovici of Romania, as well as the emerging threat of Pan Zhanle, who has displayed exceptional form in the 200m free. Hwang acknowledged the competition posed by Pan and expressed relief at posting a slightly better time than the Chinese swimmer. Hwang and Pan will also compete against each other in the 100m free, where Pan recently broke Hwang’s Asian record with a time of 47.22 seconds in May. Hwang had previously clocked 47.56 seconds in the semifinals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.