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| photo source=World Aquatics |
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"I thought it wasn't my record when I looked at the electronic board."
Sad-eyed 「15-year-old Bae Young Girl」Kim Seung-won (Yongin Sung-joong 3rd grader) smiled as she looked back at the moment when she set a new record for the 50m backstroke competition at the World Junior Swimming Championships on the 23rd of last month. Kim Seung-won rewrote the junior world championship record with a record of 27.77 seconds in the semifinals and 0.06 seconds behind his own Korean record (27.71) set during the Singapore World Championship national team selection match in March. In the final round, which ranked first among 16 athletes, he won the silver medal with a time of 28 seconds. The joy of the first medal and the regret of missing the gold medal were mixed.
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| photo source=World Aquatics |
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Kim Seung-won, who met at the Korea Swimming Federation award ceremony held at the Olympic Parktel in Seoul on the 1st, was still growing up. In August, she reached the semi-finals in both the 50m and 100m backstroke at the second Singapore World Swimming Championships. At the Romanian Junior World Championships, which came right after the World Championships, she won her first medal with the junior world god. Kim Seung-won said "It was a really fun summer. It was hard because the major championships continued, but I'm thankful that I got this great opportunity," he said with a smile. The Suyeong girl, who was a former president of the school and was good at both studying and swimming, solved the hot summer vacation story. "I was very nervous at the first World Championship and was in a hurry because I lacked experience. Since it's my second time this year, I was able to show my skills by knowing what to do. After the World Championship, I flew straight to Europe and went to the Junior World Championship. It's a lie to say that it wasn't hard. I've never had such a hard schedule" "I usually build up my body for a competition, but it was only 10 days after the World Championship. It's a period where it's ambiguous to exercise and not to do it, and there were a lot of parts where I didn't know how to prepare. I had a hard time because of the time difference, but I was happy to be given the opportunity and challenged myself with the mindset of 'I can do it' Let's do it'
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| Photo source=배럴 |
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The moment the touchpad was taken in the semi-final, Kim Seung-won said 'World Junior New Record' and 'I couldn't believe it'. "I prepared it with the mindset of doing my best because the qualifying record was so poor in the morning. I was surprised to find a junior record that I didn't expect at all. I thought it wasn't my record when I saw the electronic display. I said, "Oh, it works." I was so happy to have that experience on the international stage." When I think that "the record should come out", the record goes back, and when I think that "Let's just work hard without any pressure", the record comes like a gift," he said with a smile.
As much as the joy of the new record was great, there was a lot of regret that he missed the gold medal even though he had the best record. She said "The semi-final record was the gold medal record, but there was a lack in the final. What I lacked the most was that I couldn't figure out my mind. I should do it with ease, but I was really worried because I was greedy and my condition was getting worse", and analyzed the problem.
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| photo courtesy of Lee Eun-ji, the Universiade bronze medal = Korea Swimming Federation |
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Women's backstroke is currently the most 'hot' event in world swimming and Korean swimming. Next to Kim Seung-won is Lee Eun-ji (Sejong University, Gangwon-do Sports Council), a strong senior and competitor. Kim Seung-won holds the Korean record of 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke (59.65 seconds), and 200m new record (2:08:29) are held by Lee Eun-ji. Like Kim Seung-won, Lee Eun-ji, who broke the `Hanshin' in junior high school, became the first Korean female to break the one-minute wall in the 100m backstroke in June this year when she entered Sejong University, and won two bronze medals this summer along with '200m Hanshin'. "It's so cool to have such a sister in the same event," Kim Seung-won said with a twinkle in his eyes. "There are a lot of things I can't do while swimming, but every time I look up and learn from my sister swimming. I also need to work harder on my Dolphin Kick, which I'm lacking, aiming for the 59th second. Watching my sister enter the 59th second, I got the courage to 'I can do it enough' Whenever I'm having a hard time, I watch your videos and get answers. I'm so thankful to you" Kim Hyo-yeol, general manager of the management team, also said "Women's backstroke has a bright future. Eun-ji (Lee) and Seung-won (Kim) will continue to grow together as they compete."
Kim Seung-won says "Women's backstroke is very strong around the world. New players keep breaking world records. It's more difficult to win a medal, but I can compete with them in the 'Renaissance of Backstroke' era, and if I can break that record later, I can create something more glorious."
A year later, he also set a clear goal ahead of the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games. "I want to wear the national flag with a good record and win a medal at the Asian Games without being intimidated in next year's national team selection match." In the Olympics three years later, 15-year-old Kim Seung-won answered without hesitation when asked if his goal was to go to the finals for the first time. "The goal of the 2028 LA Olympics is to win a medal!"
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
