The nation of South Korea has unveiled its roster for this month’s Olympic Games, with its 12-strong lineup consisting of 7 women and 5 men. This year’s contingency hosts 4 more athletes than the 2016 edition, with Kim Seoyeong and An Sehyeon representing the only repeats from Rio.
South Korea was medal-less 5 years ago, with the top finisher being that of Seoyeong who placed 9th in the women’s 100m fly. National record holder and 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m free, Park Tae Hwan, wound up being a non-factor, as the man had been banned leading up to the Olympic Games and was only granted permission to compete at the 11th hour.
Although Park has not officially retired, the 31-year-old has been out of competition since last year. In his absence, Hwang Sunwoo looks to be Korea’s strongest potential medalist on the men’s side.
18-year-old Hwang set the World Junior Record in the men’s 200m free just this past May, clocking a super quick 1:44.96. That ranks the teen as the 5th fastest performer in the world this season heading into Tokyo.
2020-2021 LCM Men 200 Free
Dean
1:44.22
| 2 | Duncan Scott | GBR | 1:44.26 | 07/27 |
| 3 | Hwang Sunwoo | KOR | 1:44.62 | 07/25 |
| 4 | Katsuo Matsumoto | JPN | 1:44.65 | 04/05 |
| 5 | Fernando Scheffer | BRA | 1:44.66 | 07/27 |
On the women’s side, Sehyeon ranks 19th in the 200m IM, owning a season-best of 2:10.69 from last November.
Full South Korean Roster for 2020 Olympic Games
Men
LEE Juho (100m back, 200m back)
CHO Sung Jae (100m breast, 200m breast)
MOON Seungwo (100m fly, 200m fly)
HWANG Sunwoo (50m free, 100m free, 200m free, 4*200m freestyle relay)
LEE Hojoon (400m free, 4*200m freestyle relay)
LEE Yooyeon (4*200m freestyle relay)
KIM Woomin (4*200m freestyle relay)
Women
KIM Seoyeong (200m IM, 4*200m freestyle relay)
LEE Eunji (100m back, 200m back, 4*200m freestyle relay)
HAN Dakyung (400m free, 800m free, 1500m free, 4*200m freestyle relay)
JUNG Hyunyoung (4*200m freestyle relay)
AN Sehyeon (100m butterfly)
I had a dream last night where he blasted a 1:44.1 in the semis in TOkyo
Possible legend in the making
Does he have any interest in swimming in the USA for college?
Yay! Sehyeon made it! Really surprised Korea didn’t try for a 4×100 men’s medley relay given that they have qualifiers in every stroke.
I still think by 2028, they’ll be a world superpower in swimming.