Airport, Reporter Jo Young-Jun/ Video Reporter Lee Choong-Hoon] “The Asian Games are held once every four years. Our athletes ran after only watching the Asian Games. Of course, I want to achieve the result of first place in the 800m relay, which is a team event.”
Hwang Seon-woo (20, Gangwon Provincial Office), the hope of Korean swimming, had extraordinary aspirations. In preparation for the Hangzhou Asian Games and the World Championships to be held this year, he raised the ‘anchor of cruise’.
On the 8th, Hwang Seon-woo left for Australia with colleagues Lee Ho-jun (Daegu Metropolitan City Hall), Kim Woo-min, and Yang Jae-hun (Gangwon Provincial Office), swimming team coach Jeon Dong-hyun, and trainer Park Ji-hoon. Until they return home on the 15th of next month, they will train at the Miami Swimming Club on the Gold Coast under coach Richard Skals, who served as the coach of the Australian business team.
The Korea Swimming Federation has formed a special strategic training team in preparation for the gold medal in the team event at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, which will be held in September. Hwang Seon-woo was in the same boat as Lee Ho-jun, Kim Woo-min, and Yang Jae-hoon to win the 800m relay relay at the Asian Games.
Hwang Seon-woo grew rapidly after six weeks of special training with coach Ian Pope of Australia last year. Equipped with a new weapon called ‘Dolphin Kick’, he won a silver medal by setting a Korean record in the 200m freestyle at the World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary in June. He also achieved his first final appearance in the team event.
In the 200m freestyle at the Short Course (25m) World Championships held in Melbourne, Australia in December, she won her second consecutive victory with a new Asian record of 1:39:72.
The basis for this growth was the training camp in Australia. Hwang Seon-woo, who dreams of taking a leap forward this year, receives ‘special tutoring’ in Australia with his colleague.
Regarding this year’s goals, he focused on ‘breaking personal records’ and ‘winning the team event’. Hwang Seon-woo said, “I think I will run in the 100m and 200m freestyle at this year’s World Championships. I don’t know the ranking, but I’m focusing on breaking my personal record first.”
He continued, “In the 800m relay relay, which is a team event, we set an Asian record, and we want to rise to a higher rank than last year’s world championships, where we placed 6th.”
Coach Skals is known as a leader who specializes in mid-range leadership. He also has a formidable training intensity. Coach Jeon Dong-hyun said, “I heard that Coach Skalce’s training intensity is strong.”
Hwang Seon-woo said, “It’s hard when you practice, but this season, the World Championships and the most important Asian Games are held. It is important to keep going without giving up.”
Regarding the biggest goal of this year, he definitely picked the ‘Asian Games’. Hwang Seon-woo expressed his aspirations, saying, “The Asian Games are the most important. I want to achieve first place in the 800m relay relay, which is a team event.” 토토사이트
Korean swimming has yet to stand on the highest podium in the Asian Games team event. Although they have not been able to overcome the high wall of China and Japan, the goal of the swimming federation and players is to make a ‘new history’ using this special off-season training as a stepping stone.
‘Marine Boy’ Park Tae-hwan (34) won 6 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 5 bronze medals in the Asian Games alone. In the individual event, he won six gold medals and two silver medals, but he did not win gold in the team events, such as the 400m medley relay, 400m relay and 800m relay.
Currently, Korean swimmer Hwang Seon-woo, as well as relay players, have grown evenly.
Coach Jeon Dong-hyun positively evaluated the strength of the current national team, saying, “The synergy between the players, centered on (Hwang) Seon-woo, is good. They are constantly reducing records and some players have broken individual records.” He added, “I felt something from participating in a big tournament, and I seem to be greedy.”
Hwang Seon-woo expressed his confidence, saying, “I succeeded in setting a Korean record in the 800m relay race, but I don’t think it was a record set by maximizing individual players’ abilities. I think we can advance the record further.”