Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo trains in Fontainebleau, France, July 21. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
After spending the past several days inside a Team Korea bubble south of Paris, Korean swimming medal hopefuls Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo trained in the French capital for the first time Monday ahead of the Olympic Games.
It finally made them feel like the big competition was just around the corner.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) set up a local training camp for its athletes, called "Team Korea Paris Platform," about 60 kilometers south of Paris in Fontainebleau. Kim and Hwang, both of them reigning world champions, had been among those who were able to prepare for the Paris Olympics there, surrounded by familiar faces while dining on Korean food.
The swimming team moved to Paris on Monday afternoon and checked into their athletes' village, four days before the opening ceremony and five days before the start of the swimming races.
The venue for the swimming competition, Paris La Defense Arena, wasn't going to be open to athletes until Tuesday, forcing the Korean swimmers to train at a training venue elsewhere in Paris, Aulnay-sous-Bois Aquatics Center.
They worked out for about 90 minutes, and getting out of the Korean camp provided a nice jolt to the system.
"Training at our camp went very well, and I started my tapering today," Kim said, referring to the process of reducing training volume and intensity to prepare for his 400-meter freestyle race Saturday. "I am excited about my race."
Korean national swimming team trains in Fontainebleau, France, July 21. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Kim won his first career world title in the 400m freestyle in February, a performance that brightened hopes for his first Olympic medal. He will be up against the likes of Lukas Martens of Germany, and two Australian swimmers, Samuel Short and Elijah Winnington. All three have posted faster times in the 400m freestyle this season than Kim's 3:42.42.
The 400m freestyle final is scheduled for Saturday night, about 24 hours after the opening ceremony. It will be the first medal event for swimming, and Kim could grab Korea's very first medal of this Olympics.
"We all have personal goals," Kim said. "But rather than getting conscious about the spotlight on me, I just want to see the rest of the team get good results."
Hwang, the 200m freestyle world champion, will immediately follow with the heats and the semifinals Sunday, with his final scheduled for Monday.
"At our training camp, I didn't really get the sense that the Olympic Games were happening because I was around other Korean athletes the whole time," Hwang said. "After moving into the village, I got to see other national team flags and athletes from different countries. That's when it hit me that the Olympic Games are really here. Physically, I feel great. I just have to keep up the work."
If they both win a medal, Kim and Hwang will make Korean swimming history.
The country has never produced more than one swimming medalist at a single Olympics before. Park Tae-hwan remains the only Korean swimmer with an Olympic medal, having bagged a gold and a silver in 2008, and two silver medals in 2012.
Kim and Hwang will also team up in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. (Yonhap)