South Korean swimmer Kim Min-seop wins first physical medal at Asian Games

By Yoo Jee-ho

TOKYO, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- By taking bronze in the men's 200-meter butterfly at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday, South Korean swimmer Kim Min-seop won his third medal of the competition -- but his first physical medal.

While discussing his performance with the media, Kim said he had learned that he would not receive medals for participating in the heats for the men's 4x100m freestyle relay and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. South Korea won silver and bronze in those races, respectively. Kim, who only took part in the heats for both, will still go into the record books as a medalist for both events but will not have physical medals as proof.

"I was a little bummed out that I was not going to receive medals for those relays," Kim said. "At least I got this medal here today, and I can show it to my parents."

An official with the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF) confirmed that the organizers of the Asiad had decided not to present medals to those who only compete in the heats for relays and to give them certificates instead. It represents a departure from a long-held tradition in international swimming and apparently part of the organizers' effort to save costs at an event already criticized for penny-pinching ways.

"No medals will be awarded for the preliminary heats. Certificates will be provided digitally and sent to each team leader after the competition," a note provided to swimmers read. "Therefore, no additional physical medals or certificates will be distributed at the venue."

Teams often rest their top relay swimmers for the finals held in the evening and rely on preliminary swimmers to get through the morning heat sessions.

An Se-hyeon, who won bronze in the women's 4x100m medley relay Friday but only swam in the final, said it was a shame that preliminary swimmers were not being recognized.

"We were able to win such a precious bronze medal here tonight thanks to my teammates who competed in the heats," the 30-year-old An said. "I have never seen anything like this before. We have all worked hard for the same goal, and having only the final swimmers get medals is not fair."

In response to Yonhap News Agency's request for comment, the organizing committee said: "This matter has been handled appropriately in accordance with the OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) Constitution. The decision was not made for budgetary reasons."