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Kim Woo-min wins bronze in men's 400-meter freestyle at worlds

Published: 28 Jul. 2025, 09:12

Korea's Kim Woo-min reacts after winning bronze medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, July 27. [AP/YONHAP]

Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min captured bronze in the men's 400-meter (0.25-mile) freestyle at the world championships in Singapore on Sunday for his second straight podium finish in the event.

Kim clocked 3:42.60 in the 400-meter freestyle final at the World Aquatics Championships Arena in Singapore, finishing 0.25 second behind the gold medalist, Lukas Martens of Germany (3:42.35).

Kim had won his first career world title at last year's competition in Doha.

Samuel Short of Australia, the 2023 world champion, finished with the silver medal this time at 3:42.37.

Short, Martens and Kim had ranked first, second and third in the heats held earlier Sunday.

Swimming in Lane 3, Kim had the fastest reaction time at 0.61 second, while Martens, the world record holder, was tied for the slowest off the blocks at 0.70 second.

But the German swimmer hit the 100-meter mark first at 51.95 seconds, with Kim trailing him in third place at 52.77. Short was sandwiched between the two at 52.46.

And it stayed Martens-Short-Kim at the halfway point. Short was briefly in the lead at the 300-meter mark, but Martens nipped him by 0.02 seconds at the finish.

Of the three medalists, Kim had the fastest split over the final 50 meters at 27.62 seconds, but it wasn't enough to help him get to the top of the podium for the second straight year.

Kim said afterward he was still happy to win his second straight world championships medal.

"I want to make the podium in every competition going forward," Kim said in a message delivered through his Seoul-based agency, All That Sports. "This was my first international event since the Paris Olympics [where Kim also won bronze] last year, and it felt a little awkward at first. I was a bit nervous, but once I got into the pool, my muscle memory kicked in."

Kim conceded that he knew his rivals would pull ahead of him in the final but the gap wasn't as large as he'd anticipated.

"In the late stages, I thought I could catch Martens and Short," Kim said of his last spurt. "So I gritted my teeth over the final 50 meters."

Kim will now turn his eyes to the men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay. Kim teamed up with Hwang Sun-woo, Lee Ho-joon and Yang Jae-hoon for silver at last year's worlds. This time, the 19-year-old sensation Kim Young-beom has replaced Yang as the fourth member.

"Hopefully, my performance in the 400 meters will fire up the rest of our team," Kim said. "I expect to do well in the relay as well."

Kim, 23, has joined Park Tae-hwan as the only Korean swimmers to win multiple world championships medals in the men's 400-meter freestyle. Park won gold medals in 2007 and 2011.

Park still owns the national record with 3:41.53. Kim's personal best is 3:42.42.

Yonhap