Silver for Youngbeom Kim, Bronze for Hwang Sun-woo in 100m Freestyle... Gold Goes to World-Record Holder Pan Zhanle [Nagoya AG]

[Financial News] Youngbeom Kim and Hwang Sun-woo of the Gangwon State Government won medals in the men's 100-meter freestyle at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
In the men's 100-meter freestyle final at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan on the 20th, Youngbeom Kim won silver in 47.65 seconds, while Hwang Sun-woo took bronze in 47.79 seconds.
The gold medal went to Pan Zhanle of China, who finished in 47.61 seconds. He beat silver medalist Youngbeom Kim by just 0.04 seconds. Kim holds the South Korean record in the 100-meter freestyle at 47.39 seconds, and this was his first medal in an individual event at the Asian Games. Three years ago at the Hangzhou Asian Games, he won silver in a relay event.
This was also the first time that multiple South Korean medalists emerged in the men's 100-meter freestyle at the Asian Games. The only South Korean swimmers to have previously won medals in the event at the Asian Games were Park Tae-hwan and Hwang Sun-woo.
Hwang Sun-woo, who held the South Korean record before Youngbeom Kim, reached the 100-meter freestyle podium for the second consecutive Asian Games after winning bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Pan Zhanle, the dominant force in the event who won gold after setting a world record of 46.40 seconds at the 2024 Summer Olympics (Paris 2024), also retained his position at the top in Asia.
Youngbeom Kim will challenge for multiple medals by competing not only in the 100-meter freestyle but also in the 50-meter freestyle. He will also compete in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, 4x100-meter medley relay, and mixed 4x100-meter medley relay. Hwang Sun-woo will compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay on the 21st and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay on the 22nd before racing in the 200-meter freestyle on the 23rd.
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