Swimming Star Hwang Sun-woo Rewarded for Setting New Asian Record at Tokyo Olympics

Teen swimming sensation Hwang Sun-woo has been rewarded for his achievements at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Hwang received W10 million from the Korea Swimming Federation on Tuesday for setting a new Asian record of 47.56 seconds in the men's 100-m freestyle, although he failed to win a medal in any events (US$1=W1,159).

He finished fifth in the 100-m freestyle and seventh in the 200-m freestyle.

"I gained invaluable experience from the Tokyo Olympics. Now I will focus on preparing for next year's World Championships [in Fukuoka, Japan in May] and the Asian Games [in Hangzhou, China in September]," Hwang told reporters after receiving the reward.

He added, "My ultimate goal is a medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. I will work on increasing my physical strength as well as speed and pacing. If I train steadily, I think I can do as well as Park Tae-hwan," referring to the former champion who won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.