Hwang Sun-woo wins first world title in Doha as Korea sees banner year

Hwang Sun-woo arrives for the podium ceremony of the men's 200-meter freestyle swimming event during the 2024 World Aquatics Championships at Aspire Dome in Doha on Tuesday. [AFP/YONHAP]

Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo took gold in the men’s 200-meter freestyle at the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships in Qatar on Tuesday, winning his first world title and becoming the third Korean ever to top the podium in any discipline at the world championships.

Hwang finished with a time of 1 minute and 44.75 seconds, beating Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys by 0.3 seconds. Luke Hobson of the United States finished third with 1 minute and 45.26 seconds.

He is the third Korean to top the podium at the world championships after swimming legend Park Tae-hwan in the men’s 400-meter freestyle in 2007 and 2011 and Kim Woo-min in the same discipline on Sunday.

This year's two gold medals from Hwang and Kim mark the very first time Korea has seen two champions at the tournament.

With Tuesday’s gold, Hwang also became the first-ever Korean swimmer to medal at three consecutive world championships, having won silver in the same discipline in 2022 and bronze in 2023.

“A gold medal is what I was missing, and I am really proud that I earned it,” Hwang told his agency All That Sports after the race. “I only had silver and bronze at the world championships, and I wanted to win gold. I am happy that I made that dream come true.”

His historic gold medal does not come as a surprise, however, as he was one of the best-performing swimmers at last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games where he won six medals in total.

He won gold in the 200-meter freestyle and 4x200-meter freestyle relay, silver in the 4x100-meter medley relay, 4x100-meter freestyle relay and bronze in the 4x100-meter mixed medley and 100-meter freestyle.

Hwang and Kim, alongside Yang Jae-hoon and Lee Ho-joon, set a new Asian record in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay with 7 minutes and 1.73 seconds when they claimed Korea’s first-ever gold in the event at the Asiad.

Hwang’s consistent form is a bright sign, as he looks to compete at the upcoming Paris Olympics set to start in July.

“There are five months to go until the Paris Olympics, and I think I gained a foothold for medaling at the Games,” Hwang said.

The 20-year-old has multiple international titles under his belt, but he has yet to win a medal at the Olympics.

The upcoming Paris Olympics will be his second time competing at the Games. He was part of the Korean national team at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but failed to medal in any discipline. He still reached the finals in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races at the tournament.

Some strong competitors like the two previous 200-meter freestyle title holders at the world championships, David Popovici in 2022 and Matt Richards in 2023, skipped Tuesday’s event, but Hwang will likely see them in Paris.

A medal for Hwang in Paris would be a historic moment for Korea as well. Korea has not been successful in swimming at the past Olympics, with Park remaining the only Korean swimmer to have ever medaled at the Games.

Korea’s four Olympic swimming medals — one gold and three silver — all belong to Park.

He became the first-ever Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal when he claimed two medals — gold in the 400-meter freestyle and silver in the 200-meter freestyle — at the 2008 Beijing Games.

The upcoming Paris Olympics may see more than one Korean medalist in swimming for the first time in history, as Kim is another strong competitor. Kim, 22, also had a successful run at last year’s Asiad, winning four medals — three gold and one silver — in total.

Both Hwang and Kim may see more bling at this year’s world championships as they were due to compete in other races at the tournament, which runs until Sunday.

Hwang was set to compete in a 100-meter freestyle heat on Wednesday afternoon as of press time, while Kim is scheduled to participate in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay on Friday.

One more swimming medal would mark the very first time Korea sees a third medal in the sport at the world championships. Korea secured two medals at the 2007 tournament, the country’s best result so far.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]