Swimmer Kim Woo-min (22, Gangwon Provincial Office) suffered from food poisoning before the 104th National Sports Games in Jeonnam .He ate the wrong food and his condition deteriorated rapidly. He had an upset stomach, fever, and body aches. He was in such a bad shape that he could have given up on competing in the national championships.” I thought I had to be strong because so many people were cheering for me,” he said .Kim won his first event despite being in the worst shape of his life. He won the gold medal in the men’s general category 1,500-meter freestyle final at the National Championships on Thursday at Mokpo Indoor Pool in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do, with a time of 15 minutes, 15.75 seconds. After the race, Kim said, “It was hard to compete, but I thought it was an experience.” “I’m still not feeling well, but I’ll focus on my recovery and the rest of the competition,” he said. Despite being in terrible shape, Kim has no intention of giving up on the competition.
“I want to win the five gold medals I didn’t win last year,” he said. Kim Woo-min, who won four gold medals at last year’s national championships, will be aiming for five at the Games. In addition to the men’s general 1,500-meter freestyle, he will try to win the men’s general 400-meter freestyle, 400-meter medley relay, 400-meter freestyle relay and 800-meter freestyle relay. A five-medal haul would also earn him his first Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. If Kim Woo-min wins the MVP award, he will also be able to stop teammate Hwang Sun-woo (20, Gangwon Provincial Office) from becoming the first swimmer in history to win back-to-back MVP titles .Hwang won the MVP award at the 2021 and 2022 Games, and if he wins it again, he will become the first player in history to win the award three years in a row.
“We will support each other,” Kim Woo-min said, “but we won’t think of it as competition. “The two players are also teammates who need to work together. Kim and Hwang will be part of the same team in the men’s 800-meter freestyle relay on Friday, the 400-meter freestyle relay on Sunday and the 400-meter medley relay on Monday .”I want to achieve good results in terms of times and rankings as we have been preparing hard,” said Kim. “I will work with my teammates to achieve good results. “Kim Woo-min is South Korea’s leading middle and long-distance swimmer, having won three medals at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games. He was also named the male Most 스포츠토토존 Valuable Player (MVP) for Team Korea in Hangzhou, ahead of Hwang Sun-woo.