(LEAD) (Asiad) Kim Min-seop wins bronze in men's 200m butterfly swimming
TOKYO, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- Kim Min-seop won his first individual Asian Games swimming medal on Friday with his bronze in the men's 200-meter butterfly event.
Kim finished third with a time of 1:55.94 at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, holding off Wang Xizhe of China by one-hundredth of a second.
Kim Min-seop of South Korea poses with his bronze medal won in the men's 200-meter butterfly swimming event at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on Sept. 25, 2026. (Yonhap)
Wang Kuan-hung of Chinese Taipei won the gold in 1:55.05, and Xu Fang of China was the silver medalist at 1:55.65.
Kim had earlier received silver in the men's 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the 4x200m freestyle relay for competing in the heats.
In the butterfly final, Kim touched the 100m pad in second place and remained in the silver medal position with 50m to go.
But he slowed considerably in the home stretch, as his final split of 30.74 seconds was the sixth-slowest in the 10-man final.
Kim Min-seop of South Korea celebrates after winning bronze in the men's 200-meter butterfly swimming event at the Asian Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Tokyo on Sept. 25, 2026. (Yonhap)
"This was the first time I got into the 1:55 range since the Olympics (in 2024). And when I heard my parents and teammates screaming from the stands, I figured I had won a medal," Kim said. "Then when I saw the board, I saw No. 3 next to my name and I won bronze by 0.01 second. I felt really lucky."
Kim, 22, said the bronze medal here gave him a bigger target to shoot for going forward.
"I think my best time would have been good enough for gold here," Kim said. "I would love to reach the podium at the world championships next year and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028."
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