Injured swimmer pulls out of competition after racing in relay
Kim Woo-min of South Korea competes in the heats for the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay swimming event at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo, Thursday. Yonhap
TOKYO — Injured shoulder and all, swimmer Kim Woo-min forced his way into the heats for the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay swimming event at the Asian Games here on Thursday.
He came away feeling worse than he had anticipated, which ultimately led to his withdrawal from the rest of the competition.
The relay race at Tokyo Aquatics Centre came just two days after Kim, a three-time gold medalist at the 2023 Asiad, disclosed that he had been dealing with a partially torn labrum and rotator cuff in his left shoulder. He had finished last in the 1,500m freestyle Tuesday evening, a shocking development that could only be explained by some physical issues.
Kim led off the relay and clocked 50.01 seconds, the slowest split for the team. South Korea, though, still qualified easily for the final set for Thursday evening with a time of 3:19.55.
"It hurts more than I thought it would. I started getting worried when I was warming up," Kim said afterward. "At the start of the race, I thought I felt OK but then I couldn't get as much behind my strokes as I wanted to."
Kim said the shoulder stiffens up when he tries to get to sleep at night and he feels pain when he tries to lift it.
He also admitted his coaching staff advised him not to enter any more events in Tokyo but he chose not to listen to them.
"They told me I have to think about the next Olympics (in 2028) and I should not make things any worse here," Kim said. "But I didn't want to just sit on the sidelines while my teammates were competing out here. I really wanted to get into this event."
With his shoulder not improving despite treatment — "It is not something that will get better instantly," he said — Kim said he was having second thoughts about competing in his main event, the 400m freestyle, on Friday.
Right after the 1,500m final, Kim, fighting back tears, said he was determined to race in the 400m freestyle and try to defend his gold medal from three years ago.
Kim is also the 2024 world champion and Olympic bronze medalist in that distance.
"I still want to keep competing but I will have to go back and talk to my coaches," Kim said. "I have trained so hard to get to this point and the Asian Games mean so much to me. I want to keep going but we will see what happens."
Then minutes after his media availability, the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF) announced Kim will not enter the 400m race.
"We would like to thank Kim Woo-min for his dedication and sacrifice, but above all, we wish him a fast and complete recovery," the KSF said. "We will give him the best support possible to make sure he will be back in the pool healthy."
Kim, who will be replaced in the evening's relay final, said he was looking forward to a great race from his teammates.
"I have all the confidence in the world in them," Kim said. "I hope they put on an incredible show and help wash away my disappointment."