Men's 800m Freestyle Relay Fails to Win Second Consecutive Gold...Bronze for Korea as China and Japan Prevail (Comprehensive)

South Korean Swimmers Collect 1 Gold and 4 Bronze Medals on Second Day

The Korean men's 800m freestyle relay team, aiming for a second consecutive gold medal at the Asian Games, ended up winning the bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

On September 21 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center in Japan, the Korean team—comprising Kim Junwoo, Kim Woomin, Lee Hojun, and Hwang Sunwoo—finished third in the men's 800m freestyle relay final with a time of 7:06.76. China claimed the gold medal with a time of 7:00.17, while Japan took silver with 7:01.05.

China not only broke the Games record set by Korea at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games (7:01.73), but also surpassed its own Asian record from Singapore last year (7:00.91) to take the top spot. Japan also surpassed the previous Games record set by Korea to secure the silver medal.

Korea recorded a time 5.03 seconds slower than its own record from the Hangzhou Games, falling to third place.

On the 21st, at the Tokyo Aquatics Center, swimmers including Hwang Sunwoo checked their times after winning the bronze medal in the men's 800m freestyle relay final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Photo by Yonhap News

The race began with Japan in the lead. The first swimmer for Japan, Tatsuya Murasawa, finished his 200 meters in 1:44.70. The first swimmers for China and Korea’s Kim Junwoo finished the first section in second and third place, trailing by 1.57 and 2.46 seconds, respectively.

Korea's second swimmer, Kim Woomin, narrowed the gap to 0.31 seconds with second-place China. However, by the time the third swimmer, Lee Hojun, completed his leg, the gap between Korea and China widened again to 3.74 seconds. Anchor swimmer Hwang Sunwoo attempted a comeback, but by then, China and Japan had extended their leads significantly.

China was trailing Japan by 3.47 seconds after their second swimmer finished, but narrowed the gap to 1.89 seconds by the third leg. Then, in the final push, anchor swimmer Zhang Zhanshuo overtook Japan in the last 50 meters, touching the pad first for the victory.

Earlier in the morning's heats, Korea, represented by Kim Minseop, Yang Jaehun, Kim Junwoo, and Lee Hojun, recorded a time of 7:14.35, advancing to the final as the winner of their heat. In the overall rankings, they placed third behind China (7:11.70) and Japan (7:13.02) from the second heat, who took the top two spots overall.

After collecting one silver and two bronze medals on the first day of swimming, Korea added one gold medal and four bronze medals on the second day of the Games.

Earlier, Kim Youngbeom won the gold medal in the men's 50m freestyle, becoming the first swimmer on the Korean team to claim gold at this year’s Games. Apart from the men's 800m freestyle relay, Ji Yuchan also took bronze in the men's 50m freestyle, sharing the podium with Kim Youngbeom. Rising backstroke prospects Yoon Jihwan and Kim Seungwon won bronze medals in the men's and women's 50m backstroke, respectively.

On the third day of swimming, September 22, Kim Woomin and Kim Junwoo will compete for medals in the men's 1500m freestyle, while Lee Juho, Choi Dongyeol, Kim Youngbeom, and Hwang Sunwoo will pursue medals in the men's 400m medley relay. Eunji Lee will compete in the women's 200m backstroke, and Kim Minseop and Kim Minseok will challenge for medals in the men's 400m individual medley.

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