Hwang Sun-woo, Kim Woo-min Aim for Multiple Medals, Records at Asian Games

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min, the two alpha dogs in South Korean swimming, said Thursday they will chase multiple medals and records at this year's Asian Games.

The two swimmers and other members of the national team left for Sydney on Thursday to continue their training for the Sept. 19-Oct. 4 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, and also race in the Australian national team trials.

The competition is open to foreign-born athletes, though they won't be eligible to race in the finals regardless of their times.

Speaking to reporters before boarding his Australia-bound flight, Hwang said it will still be a good opportunity to see where he stands with the Asian Games about 100 days away.

"It will be a good first test before the Asian Games," Hwang said at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. He grabbed six medals at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in 2023, including gold medals in the men's 200-meter freestyle and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay.

"We did well as a team in Hangzhou, but swimmers from China and Japan have been on the rise lately," Hwang added. "We have to prepare hard to perform as well as we did in Hangzhou."

Hwang holds the Asian record in the 200m freestyle with 1:43.92, set at the National Sports Festival in September last year. The 23-year-old said he wants to top that mark this fall.

"I would love to reach the top of the podium again in the 200m freestyle," he said. "I gained a lot of confidence from setting the Asian record last year. My biggest goal is to break that record at the Asian Games."

Kim, 24, captured four medals in Hangzhou, but three were gold medals. He joined Hwang for the relay title, and also won the 400m freestyle and 800m freestyle titles.

"I want to enter as many races as possible and win as many medals as possible. That's my primary goal," Kim said. "Also, I want to enjoy competing against other swimmers."

Kim said his focus at the Australian competition will be more on fine-tuning some details of his races and less on results. He even plans to compete in the 100m backstroke, which is not his main event.

He finished second in that event at a domestic competition in 2023 but hasn't done any backstroke race since. He said doing a backstroke race is part of his preparation for a tight competition schedule at the Asian Games.

"I am taking it seriously," he said. "I haven't done much training, but I will try to post a good time. I will try to fix whatever needs to be fixed over the next 100 days and try to be perfect at the Asian Games."