Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo Breaks Own Korean 100-m Freestyle Record

Swimmer Hwang Sun-woo set a new Korean record in the men's 100-m freestyle at the FINA World Swimming Championships in the UAE on Tuesday in his last competition for the year.

Hwang finished sixth in the final of the event in a short course pool with a time of 46.34 seconds, breaking the previous Korean record of 46.46 seconds he set at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Doha, Qatar.

All medalists finished in the 45-second range with Italy's Alessandro Miressi winning gold, clocking 45.57 seconds.

In the 200-m freestyle race last week, Hwang claimed gold, his first in a major championship, becoming the second Korean to win the event at the World Championships after Park Tae-hwan in 2016.

"I was lucky to get off to a wonderful start by winning the 200-m freestyle. I tried to make the most of my hard work in training," he said. He asked for continued support for himself and the sport.

Hwang returned home on Wednesday and began 10 days of quarantine in line with coronavirus guidelines.

The 18-year-old high school senior has already decided to embark on a career as a professional athlete instead of going to college, and will leave for training in Australia or the U.S. around the middle of next month.

He will represent Gangwon Province at next year's FINA World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan in May and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September.