Korea fell short of a hoped-for second straight title but kept its pride with medals at consecutive Asian Games.
Hwang Sun-woo, Kim Woo-min, Lee Ho-joon and Kim Jun-woo, who were chasing a second consecutive gold in the men's 800-meter relay, took bronze at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Along with the men's and women's 50m backstroke and the men's 50m freestyle, the team added four bronze medals on the day.
Hwang and his teammates finished third in the men's 800m freestyle relay at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan on the 21st with a time of 7 minutes 6.76 seconds, behind China (7:00.17) and Japan (7:01.05).
Korea won its first-ever gold in the event at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games with an Asian record of 7:01.73. China then broke that mark with a time of 7:00.91 at last year's world championships in Singapore. Korea aimed for a second straight title at this competition but came up short.
Japan surged ahead early in the race while Korea battled China for second place. But China lifted its pace sharply after the midway point and overtook Japan in the closing stretch. Korea had already fallen out of contention for the win.
Yoon Ji-hwan and Kim Seung-won also claimed hard-earned bronze medals in the men's and women's 50m backstroke, clocking 24.54 seconds and 27.72 seconds respectively. Kim, a 16-year-old high school student born in 2010 who attends Gyeonggi Physical Education High School, finished third close behind the Chinese swimmers who took gold and silver, offering a glimpse of what is to come.
Kim drew attention in March 2024 when she broke an eight-year-old Korean record in the women's 50m backstroke at the KB Financial Group Korea Swimming Championship, which served as the national team trials for the Paris Olympics.
Ji Yu-chan took third in the men's 50m freestyle in 21.94 seconds, reaching the podium at a second straight Games after winning gold in Hangzhou. Ji and Ian Ho Yentou of Hong Kong, who took silver on the day, are the only two swimmers in Asian Games history to medal in the men's 50m freestyle at consecutive competitions.
