(Asiad) Despite shoulder injury, swimmer determined to forge ahead

TOKYO, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- After a shocking last-place finish in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle swimming race at the Asian Games on Tuesday, Kim Woo-min was reduced to tears -- not out of sadness over his performance, but out of frustration that his injured body did not hold up at Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Kim, who won silver in this event at the 2023 Asiad, was the last to touch the pad this time in 15:16.52, 34.10 seconds behind the gold medalist, Zhang Zhanshuo of China.

Afterward, Kim, fighting back tears, disclosed that he was diagnosed with a partially torn labrum and rotator cuff in his left shoulder just before the Asian Games. The 25-year-old said he had been feeling some pain for the past couple of months but he had assumed it was only some inflammation.

"I wanted to push myself really hard today. But because of this shoulder injury, I just couldn't do it," Kim said, his eyes reddened. "My mind wanted so much more, but my body did not have it today. That was really frustrating. I had no idea what I was supposed to do in the pool."

Kim hung tough for the first 600m but started falling off pace at the 650m mark. He dropped to last place in the eight-swimmer final at 800m and never climbed out of that hole.

"My coaches said if I did the 1,500m, then it could affect all the remaining races. They didn't want me to do this," Kim said. "But I wanted to ignore all of that and wanted to give it a shot. I was just helpless against all that pain. I felt pretty depressed even during the race."

With the benefit of hindsight, it now seems nearly miraculous that Kim helped South Korea to the bronze medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay Monday night and had the second-fastest split on the team with 1:46.16.

"After last night's race, I felt okay," Kim said. "But it just hurt too much in the middle of the race today."

Kim was initially entered in the 200m freestyle, the 400m freestyle and the 800m freestyle in Tokyo. National team officials later said Kim will not compete in the 200m free and will consider doing the same in the 800m.

Kim himself said he still wants to take part in the 400m free, his main event where he won a world title and an Olympic bronze in 2024. That race is Friday, which gives him some time to receive treatment and see how his body will respond.

"The priority right now is to manage this injury and forget about today's race to get ready for the next ones," Kim said. "My diagnosis came right before the Asian Games so I didn't really have time to do anything then. After the competition, I may opt for surgery or have rehab."

Asked if he was not risking further injury by pushing ahead, Kim said: "I know it is best not to use this shoulder. But I have worked so hard for this, and I want to do my best under the circumstances."