Korea collects 4 more medals in swimming, finishes with record total

Korean swimmer Choi Dong-yeol celebrates during the victory ceremony after winning bronze in the men's 50-meter breaststroke at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 29. Yonhap

Korea capped a record-setting performance in swimming at the Asian Games with four more medals Friday, including a momentous gold medal by an ascendant freestyle swimmer.

Kim Woo-min's gold medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle was the highlight of the final day of swimming at the 19th Asiad in Hangzhou on Friday. It was Kim's third gold here, making him the first triple gold medalist for Korea at this Asiad. He is also the third Korean swimmer to grab three gold medals at a single Asiad.

From left, Korean swimmers Hur Yeon-kyung, Kim Seo-yeong, Ko Haru and Lee Eun-ji stand on the podium during the victory ceremony after winning silver in the women's 4x100-meter medley relay at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 29. Yonhap

At the start of the evening, Choi Dong-yeol claimed bronze in the men's 50m backstroke with a national record time of 26.93 seconds.

Lee Ju-ho followed that with silver in the men's 200m backstroke, also setting a new national record with 1:56.54.

After Kim's gold, the women's 4x100m medley relay team raced to silver in 4:00.13, a new national record by more than three seconds. The team of Lee Eun-ji, Ko Haru, Kim Seo-yeong and Hur Yeon-kyung gave Korea its 22th swimming medal in Hangzhou.

Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min celebrates during the victory ceremony after winning gold in the men's 400-meter freestyle at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 29. Yonhap

Korea ended the swimming competition with six golds, six silvers and 10 bronzes. Korea finished with one more gold medal than Japan, which outpaced South Korea 19-1 in the gold medal count at the 2018 Asian Games.

Korea won only six medals five years ago. Its previous record for most swimming medals at an Asian Games had been 13 from the 2010 competition in Guangzhou, China. (Yonhap)

Korean swimmer Lee Ju-ho celebrates during the victory ceremony after winning gold in the men's 200-meter backstroke at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 29. Yonhap