Kim Youngbeom Wins Silver by 0.04 Seconds... World No. 1 Pan Zhanle Takes Second Consecutive Asian Games Gold

Second Place in Men’s 100m Freestyle at Aichi-Nagoya Games
Dominant Lead with 22.81 Seconds in First 50m
Hwang Sunwoo Finishes Third, 0.18 Seconds Behind, Wins Second Consecutive Bronze

'Short-distance rising star' Kim Youngbeom (Gangwon Provincial Office) claimed Korea's first swimming medal at the Asian Games.

On the 20th, Kim Youngbeom finished second with a time of 47.65 seconds in the men’s 100m freestyle final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Tokyo Aquatics Center in Japan. Hwang Sunwoo (Gangwon Provincial Office), who also raced, touched the pad at 47.79 seconds to win the bronze medal. With this, Korean swimming got off to a strong start on the first day of the swimming events at the Games by securing both a silver and a bronze medal in the men's short-distance freestyle event.

Youngbeom Kim is checking his record after winning the silver medal in the men's 100m freestyle swimming final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 20th at the Tokyo Aquatics Center. Tokyo=Yonhap News Photo

First place went to Pan Zhanle of China, the current world record holder (46.40 seconds) and the undisputed favorite in this event. Pan finished the race in 47.61 seconds, successfully defending his gold from the 2022 Hangzhou Games to claim a second consecutive Asian Games title.

Kim Youngbeom battled Pan Zhanle in a nail-biting finish, with only 0.04 seconds separating the two. Kim dominated the first 50 meters, recording a remarkable 22.81 seconds, but ultimately could not withstand Pan’s exceptional sprint in the final stretch.

“My heart was really pounding. It was so close,” Kim Youngbeom said. “Up to the 75-meter mark, I had the perfect race, even beyond what I had imagined,” he added, before acknowledging, laughing, “But I think the last 25 meters exposed the fact that I’m still ‘an amateur’.”

Kim confessed, “Honestly, I sneaked a glance around the 35-meter mark and thought, ‘I think I can do this’ because I was swimming so well—I guess I got a bit overconfident. I’ve done a lot of training for situations like this, but I still wavered a bit.” He went on, “Winning an individual medal means an incredible amount to my career. Placing second among the best athletes in the world is so valuable. I feel proud thinking, ‘I made it this far among these competitors’.”

During the interview, as Pan Zhanle was leaving the mixed zone, he gave Kim Youngbeom a thumbs-up, creating a heartwarming moment.

Hwang Sunwoo (right) shook hands with Pan Zhanle, who won the gold medal, after finishing third in the men's 100m freestyle final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on the 20th. Tokyo=Yonhap News Agency

Hwang Sunwoo, who set an Asian record (47.56 seconds) at this very venue during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finished 0.18 seconds behind Pan Zhanle to claim third place and the bronze medal. He has now won back-to-back bronze medals in the 100m freestyle, following the Hangzhou Games.

Hwang Sunwoo shared, “I achieved a season-best time of 47.79 seconds and came close to my personal best (47.56). Although I didn’t hit my target time, I’m taking it positively. Since I started the competition with a bronze, I’ll try to perform well in the remaining events.”

Meanwhile, Lee Jooho (Seogwipo City Hall), who competed in the men's 100m backstroke, stood on the Asian Games podium for the third consecutive time. He clocked 53.94 seconds in the final to win the bronze medal. Previously, he had won two bronze medals at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and two silver and one bronze at the 2022 Hangzhou Games. Xu Jiayu (China) took first place with 51.98 seconds,while Hidekazu Takehara (Japan) came in second at 53.93 seconds.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.