South Korean swimmers earn relay bronze as China resets Asian record

South Korea won bronze in the men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the Asian Games on Monday, coming up short of its title defense.

The quartet of Kim Jun-woo, Kim Woo-min, Lee Ho-joon and Hwang Sun-woo combined for a time of 7:06.76, finishing third at the Tokyo Aquatics Center in Tokyo, as China broke its own Asian record with 7:00.17. Japan, after leading most of the way, settled for silver in 7:01.05.

Kim Woo-min, Lee and Hwang had won the 2023 Asian Games gold together with a different fourth member, Yang Jae-hoon, with a then continental record of 7:01.73.

China broke that mark last year, clocking 7:00.91, and it bettered that mark by 0.74 seconds on Monday.

The medal capped a productive Day 2 in the pool for South Korea, which picked up one gold and four bronze medals.

Hwang and Kim Woo-min did not participate in the relay heats, with Yang and Kim Min-seop taking their places. Yang and Kim Min-seop both received medals, too.

Yonhap