The reigning world champion Hwang Sun-woo eased into the semifinals of the men’s 200-meter freestyle swimming race at the Paris Olympics on Sunday.

Joining Hwang in the next phase will be fellow South Korean star Kim Woo-min, who won bronze in the 400m freestyle Saturday.

With the top 16 swimmers in the heats qualifying for the semifinals, Hwang finished fourth overall in 1:46.13 at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, just west of Paris. Kim, who is racing in the 200m freestyle for the first time at a major event, finished 12th in 1:46.64.

The semifinals are set for 8:46 p.m. Sunday in Paris (3:46 a.m. Monday in South Korea), followed by the final at 8:40 p.m. Monday in Paris (3:40 a.m. Tuesday in South Korea).

Hwang won his first career world title in the 200m freestyle in February in Doha. He will try to become just the third South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal, joining Park Tae-hwan and Kim.

Park won silver medals in the 200m freestyle in 2008 and 2012, on top of the gold in the 400m freesty
le in 2008 and the silver in that race four years later.

“This was the most relaxed I’ve felt in the heats at a major competition,” said Hwang, who owns the 200m freestyle national record at 1:44.40. “I know I’ve only done this one race, but I felt pretty good out there.”

Hwang said Kim’s bronze medal from Saturday, the first day of the swimming competition of this Olympics, fired up the entire South Korean swimming team.

“I was really happy for him,” Hwang said of his longtime roommate. “Hopefully, I will be able to pick things up from him and have good races.”

Kim had a quick turnaround Sunday for the heats, following his medal-winning performance Saturday night. But he said fatigue was never an issue.

“With my main event done, I felt so comfortable for the 200m,” he said. “After winning the medal, I didn’t feel tired at all. I woke up with a smile this morning.”

The two close friends will now try to become the first pair of South Korean swimmers to compete together in an Olympic final.

“It’s an hono
r just to have this opportunity,” Hwang said. “I’d love to be in the final with Woo-min.”

When told of this possibility, Kim said with a smile, “As long as I hold up my end of the bargain, I think it will happen.”

David Popovici of Romania, the 2022 world champion, won the heats in 1:45.65, followed by Danas Rapsys of Lithuania at 1:45.91.

Source: Yonhap News Agency