Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games ‘triple gold medalist’ Kim Woo-min (22, Gangwon Provincial Office) won an easy gold medal in his first event at the 104th Jeonnam National Sports Festival. Kim won the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle final in a time of 15 minutes, 15.75 seconds at the Mokpo Indoor Pool in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, on Thursday. He led from the start of the race, opening up a large gap over Oh Se-bum (Anyang City Hall – 15:20.77 – silver) and Jang Kyu-sung (Dokdo Sports Team – 15:30.42 – bronze), and won the gold medal without much of a fight.
Kim will compete in the men’s general freestyle 400 meters, freestyle 1,500 meters, medley relay 400 meters, medley relay 400 meters, medley relay 800 meters and the general mixed medley relay 400 meters, which will be held as an exhibition event. Kim Woo-min is a middle- and long-distance standout for South Korean swimming who won gold in the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay, 800-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle at the Hangzhou Asian Games and silver in the 1,500-meter freestyle.
He is the third South Korean swimmer to win a triple Asian Games title, joining former Vice Minister of Culture Choi Yun-hee (New Delhi 1982) and Park Tae-hwan (Doha 2006, Guangzhou 2010). Kim was also named the male Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Korean team 토토 in Hangzhou.