New face emerges as S. Korea fails to match 2023 success

South Korea finished with 20 medals in swimming at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, fewer than its 2023 Hangzhou total, while 20-year-old Kim Young-beom emerged as the team’s new star. He won the men’s 50m freestyle gold in an Asian Games record time and added three relay medals. China’s Zhang Zhanshuo dominated the pool with seven golds, including Asian and competition records.

South Korea won one gold, six silvers and 13 bronzes in swimming over six days at Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

At the 2023 Hangzhou Asiad, South Korea collected 22 swimming medals, including six golds.

Kim Young-beom won the men’s 50m freestyle in 21.66 seconds after breaking the previous competition record of 21.72 in the heats.

Zhang Zhanshuo of China won seven gold medals and set an Asian record in the 200m freestyle and an Asian Games competition record in the 800m freestyle.

China also broke Asian continental records in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x200m freestyle relay.

Published Sep 26, 2026 8:00 am KST

Kim Young-beom of South Korea celebrates after winning gold in the men's 50-meter freestyle swimming event at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Sept. 21. Yonhap

TOKYO — The South Korean national swimming delegation arrived in Tokyo for the Asian Games with a goal of replicating its success from three years ago.

The team is leaving the Japanese capital having won fewer medals than it had in Hangzhou, China, but having also witnessed the rise of a new force.

South Korea finished with 20 medals across six days at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, with one gold, six silvers and 13 bronzes. At the 2023 Hangzhou Asiad, South Korea collected 22 medals from the pool, the most it had won at a single Asiad, including six gold medals.

Two freestyle alpha dogs, Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo, led the charge then. The two combined for the gold in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay, while Kim won the 400m and the 800m freestyle titles, and Hwang was the 200m freestyle champion.

Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea waves to the crowd after winning silver in the men's 200-meter freestyle swimming event at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Sept. 23. Yonhap

This year, the 20-year-old Kim Young-beom emerged as the future of South Korean swimming.

The strapping freestyler opened his campaign with a silver medal in the men's 100m freestyle, where he led the world record holder Pan Zhanle down the stretch before letting the Chinese swimmer beat him by 0.04 second.

Then Kim made his big splash by capturing the 50m freestyle gold medal with an Asian Games record time of 21.66 seconds — only hours after he had broken the old competition record of 21.72 by one-hundredth of a second in the heats.

Kim then anchored South Korea to silver in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay, bronze in the men's 4x100m medley relay and bronze in the mixed 4x100m medley relay.

On the eve of the start of the races, Kim had said while he admired Pan for his accomplishments, he was not intimidated by the Chinese star. And Kim went out and competed seemingly without any fear.

By the end of his Asian Games on Thursday, Kim had become friendly with Pan.

After the medal ceremony for the men's 4x100m freestyle relay, where Kim and Pan were both anchors for their teams, the Chinese swimmer offered the new Korean star some kind words.

"He told me I was the Asian champion in his heart and I will be the one to break his 100m world record," Kim said. "This has been such a fun event. Even though I swam every day, I always felt like I could be even better the next day. I have never felt like that before. During the final 50m today, I even had a dopamine rush."

Kim Woo-min and Hwang did not have nearly as much fun, with neither winning a gold medal this time.

Hwang settled for silver in his 200m freestyle title defense and finished behind Kim Young-beom for bronze in the 100m freestyle. Hwang picked up one silver and three bronze in relays.

Kim Woo-min of South Korea, right, leaves the pool after finishing his race in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle swimming final at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Sept. 22. Yonhap

Kim Woo-min did not even have a chance to compete for his second straight gold medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle events.

He helped South Korean to bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay on Monday but then finished last in the 1,500m freestyle the next day. Kim revealed after that race he had been competing with a partially torn labrum and rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

The injury knocked him out of both the 400m and 800m freestyle events, though Kim did swim in the heats for the men's 4x100m freestyle relay Thursday morning. The team went on to win silver in the final that evening with a different lineup.

While South Koreans were struggling to recapture their glory, the Chinese teen sensation Zhang Zhanshuo set the Tokyo pool on fire with his seven gold medals.

The 19-year-old swept up gold medals in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle, and lifted China to gold in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.

Zhang set an Asian record in the 200m and an Asian Games competition record in the 800m. China broke the Asian continental records in the 4x100m freestyle relay and in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

韩国队在东京水上运动中心举行的亚运会游泳比赛中共获得20枚奖牌，少于2023年杭州亚运会的奖牌总数。20岁的金永范脱颖而出，成为韩国队的新星。他以打破亚运会纪录的成绩夺得男子50米自由泳金牌，并斩获三枚接力奖牌。中国选手张占硕则独占鳌头，共获得七枚金牌，其中包括多项亚洲纪录和赛会纪录。

在东京水上运动中心举行的为期六天的游泳比赛中，韩国队获得1枚金牌、6枚银牌和13枚铜牌。

在2023年杭州亚运会上，韩国获得了22枚游泳奖牌，其中包括6枚金牌。

金永范在男子50米自由泳比赛中以21.66秒的成绩夺冠，此前他在预赛中打破了21.72秒的比赛纪录。

中国选手张占硕获得七枚金牌，并在男子200米自由泳比赛中创造了亚洲纪录，在男子800米自由泳比赛中创造了亚运会比赛纪录。

中国队还在男子4x100米自由泳接力和4x200米自由泳接力项目中打破了亚洲大陆纪录。

发布于2026年9月26日上午8:00（韩国标准时间）

9月21日，在东京亚运会游泳中心举行的男子50米自由泳比赛中，韩国选手金永范夺得金牌后庆祝。（韩联社）

东京——韩国国家游泳代表团抵达东京参加亚运会，目标是重现三年前的成功。

该队离开日本首都时获得的奖牌数比在中国杭州时少，但他们也见证了一支新力量的崛起。

在东京水上运动中心为期六天的比赛中，韩国共获得20枚奖牌，其中包括1枚金牌、6枚银牌和13枚铜牌。在2023年杭州亚运会上，韩国在游泳项目中获得22枚奖牌，创下单届亚运会奖牌纪录，其中包括6枚金牌。

当时，两名自由泳顶尖选手金宇民和黄善宇领衔出战。两人联手夺得男子4×200米自由泳接力金牌，金宇民还赢得了400米和800米自由泳冠军，黄善宇则获得了200米自由泳冠军。

9月23日，在东京亚运会游泳中心举行的男子200米自由泳比赛中，韩国选手黄善宇获得银牌后向观众挥手致意。（韩联社）

今年，20岁的金英范脱颖而出，成为韩国游泳界的未来之星。

这位身材魁梧的自由泳选手在男子100米自由泳比赛中获得银牌，开启了他的征程。比赛中，他一度领先世界纪录保持者潘占乐，但在最后阶段被这位中国游泳选手以0.04秒的微弱优势击败。

随后，金在男子50米自由泳比赛中以21.66秒的成绩打破亚运会纪录，夺得金牌，一鸣惊人——而就在几个小时前，他在预赛中以百分之一秒的优势打破了21.72秒的旧比赛纪录。

随后，金正恩带领韩国队在男子 4x100 米自由泳接力赛中获得银牌，在男子 4x100 米混合泳接力赛中获得铜牌，在男女混合 4x100 米混合泳接力赛中获得铜牌。

比赛开始前夕，金正日曾表示，虽然他钦佩潘政琮的成就，但他并不畏惧这位中国明星。而金正日也确实毫无畏惧地参加了比赛。

到周四亚运会结束时，金正恩已经和潘政琮成了朋友。

在男子 4x100 米自由泳接力赛的颁奖仪式结束后，金和潘都是各自队伍的最后一棒，这位中国游泳运动员向这位韩国新星表达了鼓励之情。

“他告诉我，在他心中，我是亚洲冠军，我会打破他的100米世界纪录，”金说。“这次比赛太精彩了。虽然我每天都在训练，但我总觉得第二天还能游得更好。我以前从未有过这种感觉。今天最后50米的时候，我甚至感觉多巴胺飙升。”

金宇民和黄哲伦就没有那么开心了，两人这次都没能获得金牌。

黄哲伦在200米自由泳卫冕战中获得银牌，并在100米自由泳比赛中位列金永范之后，获得铜牌。黄哲伦在接力赛中获得一枚银牌和三枚铜牌。

9月22日，在东京亚运会游泳中心举行的男子1500米自由泳决赛中，韩国选手金宇珉（右）完成比赛后离开泳池。（韩联社）

金宇民甚至没有机会争夺400米和800米自由泳项目的两连冠。

周一，他帮助韩国队在男子4x200米自由泳接力赛中获得铜牌，但第二天在男子1500米自由泳比赛中却垫底。赛后，金透露他左肩的肩盂唇和肩袖部分撕裂，但他仍然坚持参赛。

伤病使他错过了400米和800米自由泳比赛，不过金在周四上午参加了男子4x100米自由泳接力预赛。当晚，该队以不同的阵容在决赛中获得银牌。

当韩国人还在努力重夺昔日荣光时，中国少年天才张展硕凭借七枚金牌点燃了东京奥运会的泳池。

这位 19 岁的选手包揽了 200 米、400 米、800 米和 1500 米自由泳金牌，并帮助中国队在男子 4x100 米自由泳接力、4x200 米自由泳接力和 4x100 米混合泳接力中夺得金牌。

张在200米比赛中创造了亚洲纪录，并在800米比赛中创造了亚运会纪录。中国队打破了4×100米自由泳接力和4×200米自由泳接力的亚洲洲际纪录。