The first of 49 gold medals up for grabs at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will come in the men's 400-meter freestyle.
Will the Korean flag reach the highest point during the first medal ceremony of the swimming competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris-La Défense swimming pool in Paris, France.
Korean swimming will be looking to Kim Woo-min (22, Gangwon Provincial Office) to do just that.
Kim will swim the men's 400-meter freestyle preliminaries at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The final of the event will begin at 3:42 a.m. on the 28th.
Many experts have analyzed the men's 400m freestyle as a four-way battle between Kim, Lukas Martens (GER), Samuel Short (AUS) and Elijah Winnington (AUS).
In fact, the first through fourth fastest times in the men's 400-meter freestyle this year are Martens (3:40.33), Winnington (3:41.41), Short (3:41.64) and Kim (3:42.42).
Swimming publication Swimswam predicted the outcome of the Paris Olympics as “Short in first, Martens in second, Kim in third.
U.S. data analytics firm Grayscale and sports magazine Sports Illustrated (SI) also predicted that Kim would fail to win a medal.
But Kim is full of confidence.
His confidence is based on his nearly flawless 'river training' between South Korea and Australia.
“My training for the Paris Olympics was really tough. However, I trained hard while imagining myself performing well at my dream stage, the Olympics,” said Kim. ”My confidence grew as I trained well. I'm really looking forward to the Games. I want to be on the top of the podium,” he said.
At the Doha World Championships in February this year, Kim became the first Korean to win a gold medal in a business event and the first Korean champion at the World Aquatics Championships in 13 years since Park Tae-hwan in Shanghai in 2011.
If Kim makes it to the podium in Paris, he will become the first Korean medalist in Olympic swimming in 12 years since Park Tae-hwan in London 2012.
If the medal is gold, he will become the first South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic gold medal in 16 years, following in the footsteps of 2008 men's 400-meter freestyle champion Park Tae-hwan.
The strategy for Paris is also being finalized.
Kim won the World Championships in Doha in February with a personal best of 3:42.71.
In that race, Kim opted for an “early sprint” strategy, turning the corner in 1:49.17 after 200 meters to hold off a late charge from Winnington (3:42.86) and Martens (3:42.96).
Her final 200 meters was clocked in 1:53.54.
Kim improved her time to 3:42.42 at the third meeting of the Mare Nostrum Series in June.
At the Mare Nostrum, Kim covered the first 200 meters in 1:49.44 and then ran the remaining 200 meters in 1:52.98.
Kim's strategy of conserving energy in the first 200 meters and picking up the pace in the last 200 meters resulted in a personal best of 3:42.42.
“You have to stay in the race for the first 200 meters and hold your ground,” said Michael Pulperi (AUS), who watched Kim during her training camp in Australia. ”Then you have to fight hard. Especially the last 100 meters,” he said.
Kim Woo-min trained in silence with only one eye on the Paris Olympics.
The time is coming when he will be rewarded for his hard work with an Olympic medal.
“I can't wait to compete,” Kim said, smiling brightly. 카지노사이트 추천
