Kim Woo-min, despite suffering from a shoulder injury, contributed to South Korea's advancement to the finals of the men's 400m freestyle relay.
The South Korean team, consisting of Kim Woo-min, Ji Yoo-chan, Lee Ho-jun, and Kim Min-seob, recorded a time of 3:19.55 in the preliminary round held on September 24 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center during the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. South Korea finished fourth overall among the competing nations, trailing behind China, Japan, and Kazakhstan.
Kim Woo-min had previously opted out of the 800m freestyle event due to his shoulder condition but chose to participate in the relay to alleviate the burden on his teammates.
He completed the first 100m in 50.01 seconds, passing the baton to Ji Yoo-chan in second place. Ji maintained the position, and the team recorded 1:39.79 by the end of the second leg.
The third swimmer, Lee Ho-jun, increased the pace, successfully overtaking competitors and finishing the leg in 2:29.72, putting South Korea in the lead. The final swimmer, Kim Min-seob, held onto the lead, and the team finished the race first in their heat with a final time of 3:19.55.
South Korea will compete for a medal in the final scheduled for later that afternoon. Key swimmers Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Young-beom, who did not participate in the preliminaries, are expected to join the final. The men's 400m freestyle relay final is set to take place at 6:18 PM.
Meanwhile, in individual events earlier that morning, Yang Jae-hoon in the men's 50m butterfly, Park Si-eun in the women's 200m breaststroke, and Jo Sung-jae in the men's 200m breaststroke all secured spots in the finals. However, Heo Yeon-kyung in the women's 50m freestyle and Ji Yoo-chan in the men's 50m butterfly were eliminated in the preliminaries.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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