"I Had My Older Brother on My Head": Sprint Star Kim Young-beom Wears Kim Woo-min's Cap and Breaks into the 46-Second Range in a Miracle [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] As the South Korean flag fluttered over the Tokyo Aquatics Center, the swimmer who completed the most dramatic comeback wore a cap bearing not his own name, but that of another athlete. It was Kim Woo-min, the ace who swam the heats for his teammates despite a torn shoulder before making a valiant exit. Kim Young-beom of the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office, the youngest member of the team, borrowed his older teammate's cap and produced a miraculous split in the 46-second range to defeat longtime rivals Japan and claim the silver medal.
In the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Tokyo on Sept. 24, South Korea's national swimming team—Hwang Sun-woo, Kim Ji-hoon, Yang Jae-hoon and Kim Young-beom—finished in 3:11.69. They touched the wall second behind China, which clocked 3:10.60, to secure a valuable silver medal.
The true highlight came during the anchor leg, as South Korea, China and Japan battled fiercely. South Korea was in third place behind Japan through the 350-meter turn, and the team's hopes appeared to be fading. Then Kim Young-beom unleashed a submarine-like surge. He accelerated at an astonishing pace over the final 50 meters, overtook the Japanese swimmer decisively and dramatically touched the wall in second place.

The four teammates appeared in the mixed zone after the race, breathing heavily but first thinking of the one person who could not be there with them. It was Kim Woo-min, who had taken painkillers that morning and swum the heats to lead the team into the final before ultimately being unable to overcome the pain and announcing his withdrawal from his main event.
Kim Young-beom, who wore his older teammate's cap and orchestrated the comeback, delivered a particularly moving confession. He said, "I wanted to ease Woo-min's disappointment at having to finish the competition without showing even 1% of what he had prepared because of his shoulder injury." He then added with a broad smile, "I borrowed my older brother's swim cap and entered the race. Perhaps thanks to its energy, I recorded a time in the 46-second range for a 100-meter split for the first time in my life." Even under intense pressure in a race where the swimmers in the adjacent lanes were clearly visible, his regret and gratitude toward his older teammate appeared to unleash 120% of the youngest swimmer's potential.
The rest of the team's camaraderie was just as strong. Hwang Sun-woo, who set the tone as the lead swimmer with a personal-best 47.50 split, said, "We are still about one second behind China. We will train harder with our teammates and make sure we get into the 3:10 range." Kim Ji-hoon, who swam the second leg, deflected the credit, saying, "I felt sorry that I hadn't done my share, but my teammates made up for it."

Yang Jae-hoon, the third-leg swimmer, stood before the cameras with his characteristically stern expression and joked, "I'm not angry. I'm just naturally taciturn, and I'm really happy right now." He went on to savor the moment, saying, "It was more nerve-racking because it was a team event, but I am proud that all my teammates gave their best."
Although China took the gold with an Asian-record performance, South Korea's national swimming team filled each other's absences and broke through its limits while wearing a cap bearing someone else's name. The silver medal they won by defeating Japan in the heart of Tokyo was hotter and more brilliant than any gold.
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