Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo Sees 1st World Title as ‘Good Stepping Stone’ for Olympics
Having captured his first career world title, Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo believes he has given himself a solid building block for success at the Olympics this summer.
Hwang won the men’s 200-meter freestyle gold medal at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha on Tuesday (local time).
He finished the race at the Aspire Dome in 1:44.75, with Danas Rapsys of Lithuania taking the silver in 1:45.05.
Luke Hobson of the United States finished third in 1:45.26.
This was Hwang’s third career medal at the worlds, following a silver in 2022 and a bronze in 2023 all of them in the 200-meter freestyle. 카지노사이트
“I only had a silver and a bronze from the world championships, and I really wanted to win a gold medal.
My dream came true today,” Hwang said in a video interview released by his agency, All That Sports.
“This was a really gratifying race.”
Hwang led the race at the halfway turn, but Hobson moved ahead of the Korea at the 150 meters with a burst of speed.
The American posted 26.66 seconds in his third split time, compared to Hwang’s 27.29 seconds.
The tables were turned over the final 50 meters stretch, as Hwang Sun-woo kicked into another gear with a final split of 26.89 seconds and clinched the gold.
Hobson came home in 27.81 seconds to take bronze.
“I was on a pretty good pace through 100m and maintained that at the 150 meters mark,” Hwang said.
“I knew Luke Hobson picked up speed but I felt that if I tried to stay with him right then, it would ruin my race.
So I concentrated on my own pace and tried to get it done over the final 50 meters.