South Korea’s swimming relay team secured a bronze medal in the men’s 800m freestyle relay at the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games.
The Korean team, composed of Kim Joonwoo (19, Gangwon Provincial Government), Kim Woomin (25, Gangwon Provincial Government), Lee Hojun (25, Jeju City Government), and Hwang Sunwoo (23, Gangwon Provincial Government), finished third in the event held at the Tokyo Aquatics Center on September 21 with a time of 7 minutes 6.76 seconds, trailing behind China (7:00.17) and Japan (7:01.50). Earlier, South Korea had set an event record (7:01.73) and claimed gold in the same category at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. On this day, China broke the Asian record, pushing Korea’s previous mark to second place.
The 800m relay, an event where four swimmers each cover 200 meters in a relay, demands both deep team depth and strong organizational coordination. Korea fell short in overall strategy compared to Japan, which took an early lead with ace swimmer Murasa Tatsuya (19) as the first leg, and China, which staged a dramatic comeback in the final 50-meter stretch.
The Korean team will challenge for redemption in the men’s 400m freestyle relay against China and Japan at the same venue on September 24. Earlier, in the men’s 100m freestyle—a precursor to the relay events—Kim Young-beom (20, Gangwon Provincial Government) and Hwang Sunwoo won silver and bronze medals, respectively.
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