South Korea's diving, artistic swimming and open water teams competing at the upcoming world championships departed for the Japanese host city of Fukuoka on Tuesday.
The 20th edition of the World Aquatics Championships will run from Friday to July 30 in Fukuoka. The competition will kick off with diving and artistic swimming Friday, followed by open water races Saturday.
The swimming portion of the world championships will begin July 23.
South Korea sent eight divers, four artistic swimmers and four open water swimmers to Japan. Though none of them is expected to reach the podium, Korea Swimming Federation President Chong Chang-hoon said the world championships will still be an important competition for these athletes.
"Our athletes in diving, artistic swimming and open water will gain valuable experience. Some will try to make the finals," Chong said. "The Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou in September, and for many of our athletes, this Fukuoka competition will be a crucial part of preparation for the Asian Games."
Kim Su-ji, who won a surprise bronze medal in the women's 1-meter springboard diving at the 2019 world championships in South Korea, said she will try to grab a ticket to the Paris Olympics in the 3m springboard.
To do so, she must make the final by finishing in the top 12 in the preliminaries.
"When I was younger, I was just happy to be competing at international events," the 25-year-old said. "Now, I have very specific goals, and that drives me that much harder."
Kim said she suffered a minor back injury during training Monday, though she should be fine by the time she gets to Fukuoka.
Woo Haram, who finished fourth in the men's 3m springboard at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, has been battling his own back issues. He underwent surgery in November last year and only resumed technical training in March.
"Physically, I am close to 100 percent, but I haven't had enough training for the world championships," Woo said. "If I'd done enough work, I would have been targeting a medal in Fukuoka. Realistically, my goal is to reach the final in the 3m springboard and secure a spot in the Paris Olympics."
Woo said his ultimate dream has always been to win an Olympic medal, and he believes he should have enough time to prepare for Paris, now that his injury woes are behind him.
In artistic swimming, the 17-year-old Hur Yoon-seo will team up with the 22-year-old Lee Ri-young for the second straight world championships. At last year's event in Budapest, the two reached the final in the women's duet event, becoming the first South Korean tandem to do so since the current scoring system was adopted in 2013.
"Ri-young and I are trying to make our second straight final," Hur said. "Scoring rules have changed recently to put more emphasis on technical difficulties. So we've been working on technical moves without compromising our artistic elements."
Hur is also making her world championships debut in the solo free event. She ranked fifth in the solo event at the World Youth Artistic Swimming Championships in 2019.
"Since I have done well at a youth competition, I'd love to reach the final at the senior world championships this time," Hur said.
In swimming, Hwang Sun-woo, the reigning world silver medalist in the men's 200m freestyle, will lead a team of 21 athletes and five coaches.
Source: Yonhap News Agency