Finswimmers bag Korea's first four medals at 2022 World Games

Finswimmers wearing monofins dive into a swimming pool at the start of a race in this stock photo provided by the World Games. [WORLD GAMES]

Korea's Yoon Yeong-jung took silver in the finswimming men's 400-meter surface finals at the 2022 World Games on Friday, setting a new Asian record as the Korean team took home two silver and two bronze medals in the sport.

Yoon finished with a time of two minutes and 57.76 seconds in the 400-meter event, coming in just behind Alex Mozsar of Hungary with a time of two minutes and 56.87 seconds at the Birmingham CrossPlex Natatorium in Birmingham, Alabama. Yoon's time was a new Asian record, while Mozsar set a new World Games record.

Yoon wasn't the only Korean finswimmer to make it to the podium on Friday, with Choi Min-ji earlier taking silver in the women's 50-meter bi-fin event, becoming the first Korean athlete to medal at this year's World Games.

Choi finished her race with a time of 21.59 seconds, coming in shortly behind Petra Senanszky of Hungary, who took gold with 20.54 seconds.

Team Korea was back in the pool on Saturday, taking bronze in both the men's 50-meter apnoea and the women's 4x50-meter surface relay.

Kim Chan-yeong locked in third place in the men's 50-meter apnoea with a time of 14.23 seconds, 0.21 seconds behind Zhang Siqian of China in first place. Korea's Lee Dong-jin finished sixth with a time of 14.54 seconds in the tight race.

In the relay, Moon Ye-jin, Kim Min-jeong, Jang Ye-sol and Seo Ui-jin combined for a time of one minute and 10.58 seconds, 0.47 seconds behind Columbia in second place and over a second behind first-place China. Swimming in second-place, Kim had the best time for the Korean team, at 17.10 seconds, while Seo managed 17.14 seconds. Both finswimmers were individually faster than any member of the Colombian team.

The World Games is an international multi-sport event made up of sports that are not contested at the Olympic Games, or specific disciplines within Olympic sports that are not contested at the Games. The World Games generally runs every four years and, while it is run by its own association, it is supported by the International Olympic Committee.

Finswimming is an underwater sport that involves swimming with the use of fins. There are three different disciplines contested at the World Games: Apnoea, which uses a monofin and is entirely underwater, requiring athletes to hold their breath for the length of the race; surface, which uses a monofin and a snorkel and requires swimmers to remain on the surface of the water at all time, even while making turns; and bi fin, which uses a pair of fins and a snorkel and requires athletes to stay on the surface except while making turns.

While the finswimming schedule at the World Games is now finished, Team Korea still has plenty more opportunities to medal. As well as the underwater sport, Korea is also competing in drone racing, compound archery, billiards, bowling, dance sport, rhythmic gymnastics, muaythai, racquetball, waterskiing and wushu.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]