Swimming

Kim Woomin Notches 3:45.59 400 Free To Take Over World #1 Spot

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By Retta Race on SwimSwam

Freestyle Stock by Jack Spitser

2023 KOREAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2023 Korean Swimming Championships wrapped up from Gimcheon tonight but not before additional World Championships qualifying times were logged.

Following up on his 1500m free victory here, Kim Woomin got it done for gold in the 400m free. The 21-year-old produced a winning effort of 3:45.59 to not only top the podium by over 8 seconds but also get under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 3:48.15 needed for Fukuoka.

Kim’s performance represents his second personal best in as many days. Yesterday he punched a result of 1:46.10 in the 200m free for bronze, his best time by over a second, while tonight’s 400m free time sliced .05 off his previous PB of 3:45.64 produced at the 2022 World Championships. There in Budapest, he placed 6th in the final.

Kim’s 3:45.59 now ranks him #1 in the world this season, overtaking Australia’s Elijah Winnington who previously topped the rankings with his 3:45.84 from December’s Queensland Championships.

2022-2023 LCM Men 400 Free

ElijahAUS
Winnington

12/12
3:45.84
2 Ahmed
Hafnaoui
TUN 3:46.02 03/02
3 Samuel
Short
AUS 3:46.63 12/12
4 Lukas
Martens
GER 3:46.95 12/17
5 Pan
Zhanle
CHN 3:47.22 03/24

View Top 26»

We noted how Kim was among the 4-man Korean squad that recently completed a 35-day training stint in Australia under coach Richard Scarce.

The men’s 400m IM also saw a World Championships-worthy performance, courtesy of Kim Min-seok. Kim got his hands on the wall in a result of 4:17.36, narrowly dipping under the time standard of 4:17.48 needed for Fukuoka.m

Kim’s outing represents the sole result to get under 4:20 in tonight’s race and situates Kim just outside the top 10 performers on the season.

On the women’s front, Kim Seoyeong qualified for Fukuoka in her second event, winning the women’s 400m IM. Kim clocked a time of 4:42.80 to get under the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard of 4:43.06 in the process. This pairs with her 200m IM QT from earlier this meet.

Kim owns the Korean national record in this 4IM event with her best-ever 4:35.93 from 2017.

SwimSwam: Kim Woomin Notches 3:45.59 400 Free To Take Over World #1 Spot

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