Korea’s first-ever national open-water swim team hopes to popularize the discipline in the country

No diver in South Korean history has ever managed to notch a medal in an Olympic or world championship event, but hopes are high for 21-year-old Woo Ha-ram, who finished third in the preliminary men’s 1-meter springboard competition Friday. “I'm glad that I got a better result than I expected. I generally tried to play it safe and prevent mistakes, which is why I think I did well. This is the fi...

The South Korean diving tandem of Kim Yeong-nam and Woo Ha-ram advanced to the final in the men's synchronized 3m springboard at the FINA World Championships on Saturday. Kim and Woo scored a combined 376.47 points to rank fifth after six attempts at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, well inside the cutoff line of the top 12 for the final. Xie...

In the early stages of the men's 5km open water swimming race at the FINA World Championships on Saturday, South Korean Baek Seung-ho took an errant elbow from another contestant to the nose. It stung him so much that Baek had trouble breathing. He briefly thought about pulling out but then Baek remembered who he was racing for. "I didn't want to embarrass myself while representing my country,"...

Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary won the men’s 5km open water swimming title for the first gold medal of the 18th FINA World Championships on Saturday. Rasovszky claimed his first career world title in a time of 53:22.10 at Yeosu EXPO Ocean Park in Yeosu, a city about 100 kilometers to the south of the main host city Gwangju. Logan Fontaine of France got the silver in 53:33.20, and Eric Hedlin of C...

The fledgling South Korean women’s water polo team will make its FINA World Championships debut on Sunday against two-time champion Hungary. After earning its spot as the host nation, South Korea hastily gathered former swimmers in late May and molded them into neophyte water polo players. In the preliminary round, they will face three of the top five teams from the 2017 world championships, wit...

Kwangju Women’s University Universiade Gymnasium opened three hours before the official opening ceremony began at 8:20 p.m., with the anticipation for the FINA World Championships riding high in the sunny skies above Gwangju. The 18th World Aquatics Championships, the first to be held in South Korea, officially commenced with an opening ceremony on Friday. The event will feature 2,639 swimmers f...

GWANGJU -- The 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships kicked off Friday, bringing athletes and tourists to Gwangju from all over the world, but the venues were far from packed and a number of people expressed disappointment over the number of empty seats. Advance ticket sales were high enough to satisfy the organizers, despite initial concerns that swimming isn’t a popular spectator sport in Sou...

South Korean diver Woo Ha-ram advanced to the final in the men's 1m springboard at the 2019 FINA World Championships on Friday, raising hopes for the host country's first medal in the event. South Korea diver Woo Ha-ram (Yonhap) Woo finished third among 44 divers with 396.10 points after six attempts in the preliminary at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center to qualify for the final, open...

The 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships kick off a 17-day run in the southwestern city of Gwangju, Friday, a biennial meet of the world’s swimming and diving stars. Taking place at five different venues in Gwangju and nearby Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, through July 28, this year’s event is the largest ever, with 2,639 athletes from 194 countries participating. Here are some of the interesti...

It is quite a spectacle to watch dozens of athletes jump into the ocean at once and swim to the horizon. Athletes dive during the open-water swimming event at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. (Organizing Committee of 2019 FINA World Championships) Open-water swimming, the long-distance sport that takes place in outdoor bodies of water, gained recognition as an official Olympic...

Once a run-down housing complex, the athletes’ village in Gwangju’s western district of Gwangsan is now a vivacious mini globe, bustling with thousands of athletes, staff and media members during the FINA World Aquatics Championships. Rebuilt by Gwangju-based constructor Jungheung, the complex comprises 25 apartment buildings with 15 to 25 floors and a host of facilities for its diverse populati...

The 18th FINA World Aquatics Championships bring together the world’s top talent in swimming, diving and other water sports for the 17-day sporting event. Over 2,600 athletes from 194 countries will compete for 76 gold medals in six disciplines -- swimming, diving, high diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and water polo. Here are some of the international athletes to watch out for. ...

On the eve of the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, which kick off in Gwangju on Friday, the host city is holding a cultural festival. According to the city government and the organizing committee for the international event, the festival will take place in the Geumnam-ro area, about 30 minutes from the Nambu University campus, the main venue of the competition. (Organizing Committee of 2...

South Korean swimmers are shooting for the country’s 1st medal since 2011 in the upcoming 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships, to kick off Friday in Gwangju. On its home turf, the country is sending its largest-ever team to the championship with 82 athletes, 29 in swimming, eight in diving, 26 in water polo, 11 in artistic swimming and eight in open water swimming. One star who will not be j...