Swimming Kim Jun-woo wins silver medal in men's 800m freestyle at Asian Games... I kept my promise to Kim Woo-min.

(Tokyo = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Dae-ho = Kim Jun-woo (Gwangseong High School), who emerged as Korea's hope for middle- and long-distance swimming, kept his promise to national team senior Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province), who withdrew due to injury, and won a thrilling silver medal.

Kim Jun-woo finished with a time of 7 minutes 43.86 seconds in the men's 800m freestyle final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Tokyo Aquatics Center in Japan on the 24th, tying for second place with Japan's Kaito Tabuchi.

This is more than 2 seconds faster than the previous competition record (7 minutes 46.03 seconds) set by Kim Woo-min at the 2022 Hangzhou Games three years ago.

However, Zhang Zhanshuo (China), who ran an overwhelming race at 7 minutes 42.49 seconds, was faster than Kim Jun-woo.

Kim Jun-woo, who we met in the joint coverage area (mixed zone) after the game, smiled brightly and said, “I feel like I am being rewarded for all the sweat and time we spent together in the athletes’ village.” He added, “I hit the first button well by finishing the last game of my first Asian Games perfectly.”

This day's race was a race that even took on Kim Woo-min, who had to give up the race due to a shoulder injury.

Kim Jun-woo recalled Kim Woo-min's words before the game and said, "We kept talking about Woo-min's condition because of his shoulder injury, and he must have been in a bad mood, but he encouraged me by saying, 'Show me everything, including my part.'" He added, "I am even more proud that I was able to keep my promise to my brother."

He continued, "In the swimming pool, we are rivals and colleagues who do not give up an inch, but outside of the water, we are family members who are like real brothers. I am really happy that Woomin achieved satisfactory results on behalf of my older brother. I hope that he can successfully complete his shoulder rehabilitation and compete together in the stadium again."

Kim Jun-woo had a fierce competition with Zhang Zhanshuo.

He emphasized, "Being behind in the ranking competition means that I still have some shortcomings, so I will improve further. However, in my first international competition, I focused on records rather than rankings, and I am confident that 98% of my races were perfect."

Although he did not win a medal in the 1,500m freestyle, Kim Jun-woo finished in 5th place, and in the 800m, with a medal around his neck, Kim Jun-woo is looking at a wider stage.

Kim Jun-woo, who shows potential in short distances, also participated as a member of the 800m relay in this competition and won a bronze medal.

He expressed his strong aspirations, saying, “Currently, I mainly run 800m and 1,500m, but in the future, I want to reduce the distance to 400m and 200m and become an athlete who shows strength in all events.”