PARIS - South Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min secured a bronze medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics, marking only the second time a South Korean has climbed an Olympic swimming podium. Kim's third-place finish in 3:42.50 adds a second medal to South Korea's tally at these Games. German swimmer Lukas Maertens claimed gold with a leading time of 3:41.78, while Australian Elijah Winnington took silver in 3:42.21.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim’s performance took place at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre. His time narrowly missed his personal best but was sufficient to ensure a place among the top three. This event was notable as the first medal race in swimming at the Paris Olympics. Kim now joins Park Tae-hwan as one of the only two South Korean swimmers to win an Olympic medal.
Kim faced a challenging path to the podium, starting the final in Lane 1 as the seventh-fastest qualifier from the morning heats. Despite this, he showcased a quick reaction time of 0.62 seconds at the start, although Maertens took an early lead. Throughout the race, both Kim and Maertens maintained a pace close to world record times, but in the final 50 meters, Winnington surged ahead, surpassing Kim with the fastest split of the last leg.
Kim is scheduled to compete next in the 200m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay. He has opted out of the 800m and 1,500m freestyle events to focus on these shorter races. As he prepares for his upcoming events, Kim's Olympic journey in Paris continues to draw attention and acclaim.