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‘200m freestyle, Hwang Seon-woo, 100m Pan Zhanle’s dominance’ is solidified

Hwang Sun-woo and Fan Zhanle check their records in the 100m freestyle finals.

Hwang Sun-woo (right) and Fan Zanler are checking their records after the final of the men's 100m freestyle at the 2024 International Aquatics Federation World Championships held at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar, on the 16th (Korean time).

Fan Zhanle (19, China) won the first gold medal in the individual event at the World Aquatics Championships.

Van Zanler, who set a world record in the 100m freestyle in Doha and won the individual event, now looks to the Paris Olympics.

Van Zanler was the first to touch the pad with a time of 47.53 seconds in the men's 100m freestyle final at the 2024 International Aquatics Federation World Championships held at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar, on the 16th (Korean time).

The gap with second place Alessandro Miresi (25, Italy), who finished the race in 47.72 seconds, was 0.19 seconds.

Hwang Seon-woo (20, Gangwon Provincial Office) ran the last 50 meters in 24.89 seconds, the fastest among the eight participants in the finals, but turned the slowest in the first 50 meters at 23.04 seconds, placing him in 5th place (47.93 seconds).

After the match, Van Zanle said in an interview with AFP, "I prepared hard for the competition. I won my first gold medal in the individual event at the World Championships, but this is just the beginning. I will train harder. Let's meet again in Paris."

He added, “I was stressed ahead of the final today,” adding, “It’s good to win, but I’m not satisfied with my record.”

Fan Zhanle won a silver medal as a member of China's men's 400m medley relay at the Fukuoka World Championships last year.

In Doha, he participated in the men's 400m relay final on the 12th and contributed to the victory as China's first athlete.

At that time, Van Zanler finished the race in 46.80 seconds.

In swimming, the record of the first relay runner is recognized as a ‘personal record’.

Panzanler became the owner of a new world record, beating David Popovic (19, Romania) by 0.06 seconds of 46.86 set in August 2022.

Her previous personal best of 46.97 seconds, set while winning a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last fall, was reduced by a whopping 0.17 seconds.

Van Zanler gained momentum and climbed to the top of the podium in the final of the 100m freestyle individual event, shaking off the sorrow of finishing fourth in this event in Budapest in 2022 and Fukuoka in 2023.

Zhanle Fan wins men's 100m freestyle title

Popovich, the 2022 Budapest champion, and Kyle Chalmers (25, Australia), the 2023 Fukuoka gold medalist, did not participate in this competition.

Van Zanler's 100m freestyle final time of 47.53 seconds at the Doha Games is faster than Popovich's 2022 record (47.58 seconds), but 0.38 seconds slower than Chalmers' 2023 record (47.15 seconds).

This is why Pan Zhanle emphasized that “we cannot be satisfied with the record.”

However, Van Zanler can participate in the Paris Olympics, which opens in July, wearing the armband of 'world record holder and world championship champion'.

He also has the qualifications to be mentioned as a candidate to win the men's 100m freestyle at the Paris Olympics.

The friendly competition between Hwang Sun-woo and Pan Zhanle is solidifying into the structure of ‘200m Hwang Sun-woo, 100m Pan Zhanle absolute superiority’.

Sunwoo Hwang won medals in the 200m freestyle at the World Championships three times in a row, and won the championship in Doha this time.He is still a challenger in the 100m.

Van Zanler was eliminated from the preliminary round in 38th place in the 200m freestyle competition.

The prevailing view is that it is a 'strategy to focus on the 100m freestyle', but Fan Zhanle himself believes that he is competitive in the 100m, not the 200m freestyle.

Sunwoo Hwang congratulated Fan Zhanle immediately after the 100m freestyle finals on the 16th. 19가이드03