Hwang Sun-woo advances to 100m freestyle semifinals at worlds
Hwang Sun-woo of Korea competes in the heats for the men's 100-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, July 26. Yonhap
About half a day after winning bronze in the men's 200-meter freestyle, Korea's Hwang Sun-woo qualified for the semifinals in the 100m freestyle on Wednesday at the swimming world championships in Japan.
Hwang finished tied for 12th place with a time of 48.20 seconds in the morning session at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, with the top 16 moving on to the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday evening.
Matthew Richards of Britain, who won the 200m freestyle gold medal Tuesday, won the 100m heats in 47.59 seconds. Pan Zhanle of China, who broke Hwang's Asian record in May this year, finished fifth in 47.84 seconds.
David Popovici of Romania, the 100m freestyle world record holder with 46.86 seconds and defending champion, ranked sixth in the heats in 47.90 seconds.
Hwang Sun-woo of Korea begins a heat of the men's 100-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, July 26. Yonhap
Maxime Grousset of France and Josh Liendo of Canada, the respective silver and bronze medalists from last year, qualified for the semifinals in eighth and seventh place, respectively.
Hwang grabbed the bronze medal in the 200m freestyle final, which began just past 8 p.m. Tuesday at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A. It was a quick turnaround for Hwang, whose 100m freestyle heat began about a quarter after 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Hwang Sun-woo of Korea leaves the pool after competing in the heats for the men's 100-meter freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka, Japan, July 26. Yonhap
Though Hwang owns the national record in the 100m freestyle at 47.56 seconds, it is not considered his main event. At last year's world championships in Budapest, Hwang finished tied with Zac Incerti of Australia for 17th in the heats. Hwang later squeezed into the semifinals after one of the qualifiers, Caeleb Dressel of the United States, withdrew and Incerti declined to participate in the swim-off to determine who would take Dressel's spot.
Hwang failed to take advantage of the second chance, ending in 11th place in the semifinals while the top eight advanced to the final.
The 100m freestyle is Hwang's last remaining individual race. He is scheduled to compete in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay on Friday. (Yonhap)