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| Cho Hyun-ju / Photo: Korea Swimming Federation |
The Korea Swimming Federation (President Jeong Chang-hoon) announced that on the afternoon of the 27th, the fifth day of the six-day 2026 national team selection meet held from the 23rd to the 28th at the Gimcheon Indoor Swimming Pool in Gyeongsangbuk-do, Cho won the women's 200m freestyle final in 1:58.00 to set a new Korean record.
Cho became the second swimmer at this meet to set a new national record, trimming 0.10 seconds off her previous mark of 1:58.10, established at last July's World Championships in Singapore.
With the new national record, Cho is strongly positioned to make her return to the Asian Games for the first time since Incheon 2014. After the race she said, \"It's been a long time since I set a national record on home soil, so this feels special. I actually had flu-like symptoms, but my coaches told me not to be weak and trusted me.\"
She added, \"When I was a middle-schooler 12 years ago, I competed just to participate. For my second Asian Games, I will train hard in the remaining time to become a more competitive athlete.\"
Earlier, in the men's 200m freestyle final, Hwang Sun-woo (Gangwon Provincial Office), the current Asian record holder and defending champion from the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, touched first in 1:46.22.
Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Provincial Office) finished second in 1:46.63, Lee Ho-jun (Jeju City Hall) took third in 1:47.33, and Kim Min-seop (Gyeongsangbuk-do Sports Council) was fourth in 1:47.54.
As previously announced, the federation said it will decide through the next Performance Improvement Committee whether to add up to six swimmers who meet its internal qualifying time (1:48.50) to the men's 800m relay squad.
After the race, Hwang said, \"I was worried because I haven't felt great physically, so I'm really glad to win my main event, the 200m freestyle. Seeing more swimmers post times in the 1:48s, I expect we can train together at the athletes' village and prepare well for the men's 800m relay.\"
In the men's 200m breaststroke final, current national record-holder Cho Seong-jae (Armed Forces Athletic Corps) won in 2:09.79, moving one step closer to his third Asian Games.
Park Si-eun (Gangwon Provincial Sports Council) won the women's 200m breaststroke in 2:25.87, sweeping the breaststroke events — 50m, 100m and 200m — to become the meet's first triple champion.
In the men's 50m backstroke, current national record-holder Yoon Ji-hwan (Gangwon Provincial Office) was fastest in 24.71 seconds. In the women's race, Kim Seung-won (Gyeonggi Sports High School, 1st year) won in 28.01 seconds, claiming her second title after the 100m.
Through the remainder of the meet, which continues through tomorrow, the federation will determine candidates for the 2026 national team's intensive training camp at Jincheon Athletes' Village and recommend athletes for selection to represent Korea at the 2026 20th Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
First-place finishers in each final will be recommended as candidates for the Korean swimming delegation to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games; the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee will make the final selections.
[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu sports@stoo.com]
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