Kim Young-beom sets Asian Games record in men's 50m freestyle

Kim Young-beom broke the Asian Games record in the men’s 50-meter freestyle in Tokyo on Monday. He won the heats in 21.71 seconds at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, beating the previous mark by 0.01 second. Ji Yu-chan finished third in the heats with 22.23 seconds, and both South Koreans advanced to the final. Kim said he wants to keep his form and improve again in the final.

Kim Young-beom’s winning heats time was 21.71 seconds in the men’s 50-meter freestyle at Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

His swim broke the three-year-old Asian Games record held by compatriot Ji Yu-chan by 0.01 second.

Ji Yu-chan clocked 22.23 seconds in the heats and ranked third overall.

Kim won silver in the men’s 100-meter freestyle on Sunday, his first medal at the Asian Games.

Kim and Ji both advanced to the final, which was scheduled for Monday evening with eight other swimmers.

Published Sep 21, 2026 11:34 am KST

Kim Young-beom of South Korea reacts after winning silver in the men's 100-meter freestyle swimming at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Sunday. Yonhap

TOKYO — Kim Young-beom broke a three-year-old Asian Games record in the men's 50-meter freestyle swimming in Tokyo on Monday.

Kim won the heats for the men's shortest freestyle race with a time of 21.71 seconds at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, which is hosting all swimming events during the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Kim improved the record held by his compatriot, Ji Yu-chan, by 0.01 second.

Ji, who won the 2023 Asian Games gold in 21.72, clocked 22.23 seconds Monday to rank third overall in the heats. Both South Koreans will compete in the final set for Monday evening, along with eight others.

Kim, who won silver in the 100m freestyle Sunday to begin his Asian Games, said he was happy to see his work pay off.

"As soon as I saw the time posted on the scoreboard, I felt that hard work never betrays anyone," the 20-year-old said. "I felt incredible in the first 25m and I reminded myself I had to stay focused and not get ahead of myself over the remaining 25m."

Records do not often fall during heats in swimming, with athletes saving themselves for finals scheduled for later in the day. Kim said the key for him in his final is to maintain his form.

"I did the absolute best I could here and there is nothing I want to change," he said. "But in the 50m, anything can happen. You can end up 0.2 second slower or 0.2 second faster than heats."

Kim, who only participated in relays at the 2023 Asiad, recalled that he felt so proud of seeing Ji win the 50m freestyle gold with the record time.

"When I saw Yu-chan set that record, I was like, 'Wow, a South Korean swimmer can be that fast.' And it feels a bit weird to break his record," Kim said with a smile. "Now I can understand how Yu-chan must have felt being that fast in the pool."

Ji, 24, said he was glad it was a fellow South Korean swimmer who broke his record.

"Now I will go try to break his record," Ji said. "I just posted my best time of the year and this was the best I have felt this year. I obviously want to win my second straight gold medal but I also don't want to get caught up with results. I think some of the pressure I was feeling was lifted after the morning race."

Kim said if anyone other than himself were to better his fresh record, he would want it to be Ji.

"We will try to push each other," Kim added. "I will go get my rest and try to post an even better time in the final."

周一，金永范在东京亚运会男子50米自由泳比赛中打破纪录。他在东京水上运动中心以21.71秒的成绩赢得预赛冠军，比原纪录快了0.01秒。池裕灿以22.23秒的成绩获得预赛第三名，两位韩国选手均晋级决赛。金永范表示，他希望保持状态，并在决赛中再次提升成绩。

金永范在东京水上运动中心举行的男子50米自由泳预赛中以21.71秒的成绩夺冠。

他的游泳成绩比同胞池宇灿保持了三年的亚运会纪录快了0.01秒。

池宇灿在预赛中跑出了22.23秒的成绩，总排名第三。

金在周日的男子100米自由泳比赛中获得银牌，这是他在亚运会上的首枚奖牌。

金和池都晋级决赛，决赛定于周一晚上举行，届时将有另外八名游泳运动员参加。

发布于2026年9月21日上午11:34（韩国标准时间）

韩国选手金永范在东京亚运会男子100米自由泳比赛中获得银牌后做出反应。（韩联社）

东京——周一，金永范在东京举行的亚运会男子50米自由泳比赛中打破了保持了三年的亚运会纪录。

在东京水上运动中心举行的爱知-名古屋亚运会所有游泳比赛的举办地，金以 21.71 秒的成绩赢得了男子最短自由泳预赛的冠军。

金宇镇将他的同胞池裕灿保持的纪录提高了0.01秒。

池昌旭曾在2023年亚运会上以21.72秒的成绩夺得金牌，周一她跑出了22.23秒的成绩，在预赛中排名第三。这两位韩国选手将与其他八名选手一起参加周一晚上的决赛。

金在周日举行的亚运会男子100米自由泳比赛中获得银牌，开启了他的亚运征程。他表示很高兴看到自己的努力得到了回报。

“当我看到记分牌上的时间时，我就觉得努力永远不会白费，”这位20岁的选手说道。“前25米我感觉棒极了，但我提醒自己必须保持专注，不能在剩下的25米里操之过急。”

游泳比赛预赛中很少会打破纪录，运动员们通常会为当天晚些时候举行的决赛保存体力。金表示，他决赛的关键在于保持状态。

“我已经尽了全力，没有什么需要改变的，”他说。“但在50米比赛中，一切皆有可能。你的最终成绩可能比预赛慢0.2秒，也可能快0.2秒。”

金在2023年亚运会上只参加了接力赛，他回忆说，看到池以破纪录的成绩赢得50米自由泳金牌，他感到非常自豪。

“当我看到裕灿打破纪录时，我就想，‘哇，韩国游泳运动员竟然能游得这么快。’打破他的纪录感觉有点奇怪，”金笑着说。“现在我能体会到裕灿在泳池里游得那么快时的感受了。”

24岁的池表示，他很高兴打破他纪录的是一位韩国游泳运动员。

“现在我要去努力打破他的纪录，”吉说。“我刚刚跑出了今年的最佳成绩，这也是我今年感觉最好的一次。我当然想卫冕金牌，但我也不想被成绩束缚。我觉得上午的比赛之后，我感受到的压力减轻了一些。”

金正恩表示，如果除了他自己之外还有人能打破他刚刚创下的纪录，他希望这个人是池昌旭。

“我们会互相激励，”金补充道。“我会好好休息，争取在决赛中跑出更好的成绩。”