Kim Young-beom celebrates after setting an Asian Games record in the men's 50-meter freestyle heats at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Sept. 21.YONHAP
Kim Young-beom broke a three-year-old Asian Games record in the men's 50-meter freestyle in Tokyo on Monday.
Kim won the heats for the men's shortest freestyle race with a time of 21.71 seconds at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, which is hosting all swimming events during the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
Kim improved the record held by his compatriot, Ji Yu-chan, by 0.01 seconds.
Ji, who won the 2023 Asian Games gold in 21.72, clocked 22.23 seconds Monday to rank third overall in the heats. Both Koreans will compete in the final set for Monday evening, along with eight others.
Kim, who won silver in the 100-meter freestyle Sunday to begin his Asian Games, said he was happy to see his work pay off.
“As soon as I saw the time posted on the scoreboard, I felt that hard work never betrays anyone,” the 20-year-old said. “I felt incredible in the first 25m and I reminded myself I had to stay focused and not get ahead of myself over the remaining 25m.”
Records do not often fall during heats in swimming, with athletes saving themselves for finals scheduled for later in the day. Kim said the key for him in his final is to maintain his form.
“I did the absolute best I could here and there is nothing I want to change,” he said. “But in the 50 meters, anything can happen. You can end up 0.2 seconds slower or 0.2 seconds faster than heats.”
Kim Young-beom gets ready during the men’s 50-meter freestyle heats at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Sept. 21.YONHAP
Kim, who only participated in relays at the 2023 Asiad, recalled that he felt so proud of seeing Ji win the 50-meter freestyle gold with the record time.
“When I saw Yu-chan set that record, I was like, 'Wow, a Korean swimmer can be that fast.' And it feels a bit weird to break his record,” Kim said with a smile. “Now I can understand how Yu-chan must have felt being that fast in the pool.”
Ji, 24, said he was glad it was a fellow Korean swimmer who broke his record.
“Now I will go try to break his record,” Ji said. “I just posted my best time of the year and this was the best I have felt this year. I obviously want to win my second straight gold medal but I also don't want to get caught up with results. I think some of the pressure I was feeling was lifted after the morning race.”
Kim said if anyone other than himself were to better his fresh record, he would want it to be Ji.
“We will try to push each other,” Kim added. “I will go get my rest and try to post an even better time in the final.”
