World male swimmers, people born in the 2000s are scared – munhwa.com

■ Generational change at the World Championships

18-year-old Popovich, 19-year-old Hwang Seon-woo
1st and 2nd place in the 200m freestyle
22-year-old Milach, 100m butterfly gold

The 2000’s are coming. The world’s men’s swimmers are facing the wind of a generational change.

Hwang Seon-woo (Gangwon Provincial Government) will return to Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 27th after finishing the FINA World Swimming Championships. Hwang Seon-woo won a silver medal in the men’s 200m freestyle, breaking the record for the best performance (bronze medal) recorded by Park Tae-hwan in Melbourne, Australia in 2007. Also, in 2011, in Shanghai, China, Park Tae-hwan was named as a Korean athlete who won a medal at the world championship in the long course (50m) 11 years after Park Tae-hwan won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle.

In the management event of the World Championships, which ended on the 26th, what drew attention was the performances of male players born in the 2000s, including Hwang Seon-woo. Hwang Seon-woo (born 2003) won the silver medal in the 200m freestyle, David Popovich (Romania) born in 2004 won two gold medals in the 100m and 200m freestyle, and Christoph Milak (Hungary) born in 2000 won the 100m and 200m butterfly medals. In particular, Hwang Seon-woo set a new Korean record at 1:44.47 in the 200m freestyle, Popovich set a new world junior and Romanian record at 1:43.21, and Milak set a new world record at 1:50.34 in the 200m butterfly.

The main event for those born in the 2000s overlaps with the swimming emperor Caleb Dressel (USA) born in 1996. Dressel won gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle and 50m and 100m butterfly at the 2019 World Championships. Including the team event, 6 gold medals. However, this year, Dressel withdrew due to medical reasons and only took first place in the 50m butterfly and 400m relay, which is a team event. Popovich took over the 100m freestyle without the dress, and Milach took over the 100m butterfly. On the other hand, in the women’s division, Katie Ledecky (USA), a swimmer and born in 1997, continued her solo career, winning three individual gold medals in the 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle, and a total of 4 in the 800m relay.

Dressel is the strongest male athlete in the world, winning 15 gold medals at the World Championships and placing third in this category. He is called the swimming emperor after Michael Phelps (retired USA), who is the all-time 1st place (26 gold medals). However, as the skills of those born in the 2000s, who were in their late teens or early 20s, rapidly grew, they faced a fierce challenge.

Reporter Heo Jong-ho sportsher@munhwa.com