Korea's Hwang Sun-woo competes in the final of the men's 200m freestyle swimming event during the 2024 World Aquatics Championships at Aspire Dome in Doha, Feb. 13. AFP-Yonhap
Korean swimming star Hwang Sun-woo has claimed gold in the men's 200-meter freestyle at the world championships in Qatar.
Hwang clocked 1:44.75 for the gold at the World Aquatics Championships at Aspire Dome in Doha on Tuesday (local time). Danas Rapsys of Lithuania finished in 1:45.05 for the silver. Luke Hobson of the United States won the bronze medal in 1:45.26.
Hwang, 20, is just the third Korean swimmer to win a world title, joining Park Tae-hwan, who won the men's 400m freestyle titles in 2007 and 2011, and Kim Woo-min, who captured the men's 400m freestyle gold on Sunday in Doha.
Hwang is now the first Korean swimmer to grab a medal at three straight world championships. He won silver in the 200m freestyle two years ago and followed that up with bronze last year.
Gold medallist Korea's Hwang Sun-woo arrives for the podium ceremony of the men's 200m freestyle swimming event during the 2024 World Aquatics Championships at Aspire Dome in Doha, Feb. 13. AFP-Yonhap
Hwang's medal was Korea's fourth in Doha, the most the country has won at a single world championship.
Prior to the gold medals by Kim and Hwang, Korea picked up two bronze medals in diving: by Kim Su-ji in the women's 3m springboard and by Kim and Yi Jae-gyeong in the mixed 3m synchronized event.
Hwang had the quickest reaction time off the blocks with 0.62 second and reached the 50m mark the fastest at 24.24 seconds.
Hwang remained in the lead at the halfway point at 50.57 seconds. Hobson, though, moved ahead of Hwang at the 150m mark by checking in at 1:17.45, 0.41 second faster than the Korean. Rapsys was in third place at that point in 1:18.13.
Hwang was able to find another gear over the final stretch and overtake Hobson for his first career world title. Hwang had the fastest final 50m split with 26.89 seconds, 0.03 ahead of Rapsys. Hobson, on the other hand, settled for the bronze after coming home in 27.81 seconds.
Hwang came up just shy of his own national record time of 1:44.40, which he set while winning the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September 2023.
Hwang will next compete in the men's 100m freestyle, with the heats scheduled for Wednesday morning in Doha, followed by the semifinals Wednesday evening. If Hwang advances to the final — open to the top eight swimmers from the semifinals — the race will be 7:21 p.m. Thursday in Doha, or 1:21 a.m. Friday in Korea.
Hwang will then race in the 4x200m freestyle relay, where Korea is considered a medal contender. The heats for the relay will be Friday morning and the final is scheduled for 8:33 p.m. Friday in Doha, or 2:33 a.m. Saturday in Korea. (Yonhap)