Women's 100m backstroke wins bronze medal, second medal of the competition

Kim Seung-won (Gyeonggi Sports High School), a Korean women's backstroke star who was the first to go around the first 50 meters while cutting through the water without hesitation, swallowed deep regret at a small mistake made at the moment of touching the final touch pad.

Seungwon Kim won a bronze medal in the women's 100m backstroke final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Tokyo Aquatics Center in Japan on the 23rd with a time of 1 minute 00.10 seconds.

It was her second medal in this competition, following the bronze medal in the women's 50m backstroke on the 21st, but it was disappointing as the gap with Rio Shirai (Japan, 59.89 seconds), who took the silver medal, was only 0.21 seconds.

Kim Seung-won, whom we met in the mixed zone (joint coverage area) after the race, opened his mouth and said, “I wanted to do better in the 100m, but I have some regrets.”

The most disappointing moment was the final touch right before the finish line.

Kim Seung-won confessed, “The final touch was supposed to be made before turning half a stroke, but I couldn’t see it properly, so I ended up with one stroke less.”

Based on his shoulder line, he seemed to be in the race for second place, but the timing of his hand gestures toward the touch pad was off, and he missed out on the silver medal by 0.21 seconds.

The early race was flawless. Seungwon Kim led the race by passing the first 50m section in 28.60 seconds, the fastest time among the 10 participants.

Regarding this, Seungwon Kim reflected, "I usually finish ahead of the 50m racers even when competing with world-class athletes, so I ran the race well in my original style."

Although it was not the medal of the color he was aiming for, Seungwon Kim did not bow his head.

This is because the 400m mixed medley relay finals were waiting to follow immediately.

Kim Seung-won headed toward the next race with a bright expression, saying, "Rather than being discouraged now, I will quickly finish the team race and have fun with my sisters and brothers."