Kim Minseop Lowers Korean 200 Fly National Record For Paris Qualification

2024 KOREAN OLYMPIC TRIALS

• Friday, March 22nd – Wednesday, March 27th, Korea
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Day 1 Recap
• Results
• Livestream

Korea had a successful day two of its Olympic Trials with multiple athletes booking their tickets to this summer’s Games in Paris, France.

The top 2 finishers at these Trials qualify for Paris provided they meet or exceed the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time. However, the Korean Swimming Federation (KSF) High-Performance Committee decided that if a winner here finishes with a slower time than the OQT, but already earned a valid time within the period (March 1, 2023 to June 23, 2024), he/she still qualifies for the Olympics.

Continuing his momentum from yesterday’s heats, Kim Minseop fired off another national record en route to claiming gold in the men’s 200m butterfly.

Tonight Kim produced a winning effort of 1:54.95 to get under the 1:55 barrier for his first time ever.

His performance eclipsed the 1:55.45 he put up yesterday to earn the top seed. That lowered his previous benchmark of 1:55.95 he put on the books in November 2022.

Kim’s 1:54.95 result dipped under the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 1:55.78 to add his name to the nation’s roster for Paris. Splits are not available at this time.

As a bonus, Kim earned 1 million won (~$745 USD) for setting a new Korean record. His performance today ranks him 7th in the world on the season.

Another notable swim came in the women’s 200m back finals where 17-year-old Lee Eunji produced a gold medal-worthy effort of 2:09.88.

Remarkably, that’s the exact time the teen posted in the heats yesterday, which already cleared the World Aquatics Olympic Qualification Time of 2:10.39.

Lee’s result came within striking distance of the 2:09.49 Korean national record Im Da-sol logged in 2019.

The rising star is coming off a successful Asian Games where she collected bronze in the women’s 100m back with a national record-tying 1:00.03 and bronze in the 200m back in 2:09.75. She also helped the nation secure 3 relay medals.

Lee Juho raced his way to the top of the podium in the men’s 200m backstroke.

29-year-old Lee registered a time of 1:56.52 to come within half a second of his 1:56.05 national record turned in at November’s Korean National Trials.

His time dipped under the 1:57.50 World Aquatics Olympic Qualifying Time to insert his name onto the Korean roster for Paris.

Lee is the reigning Asian Games silver medalist, having clocked a mark of 1:56.54 in Hangzhou.

Additional Notes

• The men’s 100m breast saw Choi Dong-yeol stop the clock at 1:00.23 as the gold medalist. He owns the Korean national record in both the 50m (26.93) and the 100m (59.28) with his results coming at last year’s Asian Games. He earned bronze in each event in Hangzhou and his 100m breast time there, combined with his being the top performer at these Trials, renders him qualified for this summer’s Olympics.
• Lee Hee-eun earned the top prize in the women’s 200m fly, posting 2:09.94.
• World champion Hwang Sunwoo made his presence known in the heats of the men’s 100m free. The national record holder turned in a time of 48.80 to land lane 4 for tomorrow night’s final. The 20-year-old owns a lifetime best of 47.56 in this event from 2021.
• Heo Yeon-kyung was the top women’s 100m freestyler, registering 55.38 to beat the field by over a second in today’s prelims.

Korean Olympic Qualifiers Through Day 2 of Trials

• Kim Woomin – Men’s 1500m free, 14:58.03
• Lee Juho – Men’s 200m back, 1:56.52
• Lee Eunji – Women’s 200m back, 2:09.88
• Choi Dong-yeol – Men’s 100m breast, 59.28 *From Asian Games
• Kim Minseop – Men’s 200m fly, 1:54.95