China's 'Swimming Monster' Hits Seven Titles! Amidst the Storm, Lee Ju-ho, Kim Min-seop, and Women's Mixed Relay Shine in a 'Silver-Bronze' Race [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

Even amid China's overwhelming dominance, South Korean swimming demonstrated relentless spirit, securing silver and bronze medals. While China's teenage 'swimming monster' Zhang Zianshuo claimed seven titles at the tournament, the South Korean team added valuable bronze medals to Lee Ju-ho's silver in the men's 200m backstroke, with Kim Min-seop and the women's 400m mixed relay team following suit.

On the 25th at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan, Lee Ju-ho finished second in the men's 200m backstroke final with a time of 1 minute 56.58 seconds. He narrowly missed victory by just 0.16 seconds to Japan's Kodai Nishiono (1:56.42), who surged ahead in the final stretch. China's Xu Jiayu, aiming for a third consecutive title in this event, finished third with a time of 1:56.73.

This marked Lee Ju-ho's second consecutive silver medal in the men's 200m backstroke, following his performance at the 2022 Hangzhou Games. The medal was his ninth career Asian Games medal and his third at this tournament. However, he fell short of breaking his own South Korean record of 1:55.34.

In the men's 200m butterfly final, Kim Min-seop (Gyeongbuk Sports Council) claimed bronze with a time of 1:55.94. This was the first medal for a South Korean swimmer in this event at the Asian Games since Han Gyu-cheol won in Bangkok in 1998 — a span of 28 years. Wang Guan-hong (Taiwan, 1:55.05) took gold, while Xu Pang (China, 1:55.65) secured silver.

The South Korean women's 400m mixed relay team (Kim Seung-won, Park Si-eun, Ahn Se-hyun, Heo Yeon-kyung) also added a bronze medal with a time of 4:00.67. They finished behind China, which set a new tournament record (3:54.55), and Japan (3:57.64). This marked their second consecutive podium finish at the Asian Games, following their silver medal in Hangzhou.

Other South Korean athletes narrowly missed the medal positions. In the men's 50m breaststroke, Choi Dong-yeol (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office) finished fourth with a time of 27.12 seconds, trailing bronze medalist Shin Ohashi (Japan, 27.01) by just 0.11 seconds. In the women's 50m butterfly, Ahn Se-hyun (Jeju City Hall) and Lee Song-eun (Jeollabuk-do Sports Council) finished seventh (26.66) and eighth (27.10), respectively. In the women's 800m freestyle, Kim Chae-yoon (Daejeon High School) placed sixth with a time of 8:42.28, while Lee Ho-jun (Jeju City Hall) finished ninth in the men's 400m freestyle with a time of 3:51.18.

Meanwhile, China's swimming momentum remained fierce on this day too. In the men's 400m freestyle final, where defending champion Kim Woo-min (Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office) withdrew due to a shoulder injury, Zhang Zianshuo claimed gold with a new tournament record of 3:41.28, achieving his seventh title at the Games. Additionally, Zhang Weipei won four titles in the women's 50m butterfly, and Li Bingjie secured five titles in the women's 800m freestyle.

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*This content was translated by AI.