Hwang Seon-woo (Gangwon Provincial Office), who is expected by the whole nation as a ‘Post Park Tae-hwan’ at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, is planning to cross the water with the Taegeuk mark this year as well.

Hwang Seon-woo easily climbed to first place with a record of 48 seconds and 21 seconds in the men’s 100m freestyle final of the KB Financial Korea Swimming Championship (2023 National Business Team Selection Competition) held at the indoor swimming pool in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk on the afternoon of the 27th. This record is second in the world rankings this season, following the record of 48 seconds 09 set by Kyle Chalmers (Australia) on the 10th at the New South Wales State Open Championship in Australia.

In the preliminaries held the previous morning, Hwang Seon-woo took first place out of 20 competitors with a time of 48.98 seconds. He easily passed the International Swimming Federation A record of 48 seconds 51, qualifying for the World Championships to be held in Fukuoka, Japan in June.

This competition is being held as a selection match for the national team such as this year’s World Championships and Hangzhou Asian Games안전놀이터. Hwang Seon-woo will participate in the World Championships three times in a row since 2019. Asian Games is the first time this year.

Hwang Seon-woo was also included in the special strategy fostering team formed by the Korea Swimming Federation with the goal of winning the first gold medal in the team event at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will open in September. He had already trained for 35 days at the Miami Swimming Club in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from the 8th of last month, and returned home on the 15th to prepare for this selection.

After the game, Hwang Seon-woo said, “It was not easy to recover my condition because I was aching at the end of the training session in Australia.” He also expressed his determination for the world competition, saying, “I will work hard to produce a good record by preparing steadily according to the plan for the remaining period.”

Hwang Seon-woo will compete in his main event, the 200m freestyle, on the 28th. The 200m freestyle final will be held on the afternoon of the 29th.

Meanwhile, a new Korean record was set in the women’s 100m freestyle. Heo Yeon-kyung (Bangsan High School) took first place with a new Korean record of 54 seconds and 74 seconds. Although she is a new Korean record, she falls short of the International Federation A record of 54.25, but exceeds the Korea Swimming Federation’s own standard record of 55.06, and she has a chance to compete in the World Championships. This matter is subject to the decision of the Federation’s Performance Improvement Committee at a later date.

Heo Yeon-kyung, a senior in high school who received a reward of 1 million won for the Korean Swimming Federation’s new record for this competition, expressed her aspirations, saying, “As a senior high school student who wants to go to college and join the unemployment team, I will work harder toward my goal.”