In South Korean freestyle swimming, Lee Ho-joon has been playing second fiddle to Hwang Sun-woo for the past couple of years, since Hwang burst onto the scene at the Tokyo Olympics at age 18.

Lee, two years Hwang’s senior at 22, isn’t quite as accomplished as Hwang, who has won two world championship medals in the 200-meter freestyle. Lee’s claim to fame, at least until Wednesday night in Hangzhou, China, had been reaching the final of the 200m freestyle at this year’s worlds, where Hwang grabbed bronze.

Lee finally seemed to have his own moment when he grabbed bronze in the 200m free at the Asian Games here Wednesday. Alas, none other than Hwang won the gold medal, stealing Lee’s thunder.

However, Lee harbors no resentment toward his younger and more famous teammate.

“Having such a world class athlete as a teammate gives me so much strength. I can really lean on him,” Lee said after his 200m race at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena. “There are many more international competitions coming up, and I have so many goals that I haven’t achieved. I am going to do my best to meet them.”

Lee was in second place, behind Hwang, with 50m to go. But then Pan Zhanle of China moved past Lee with an impressive final split of 25.99 seconds, while Lee came home in 27.05 seconds to take bronze.

Lee still set his personal best with 1:45.56, though he felt as though he had more to give.

“I’d been training to get into the 1:44 range, and I am disappointed I couldn’t break the 1:45 barrier,” Lee said. “I pushed myself a little too hard to keep pace with Sun-woo early, and I ended up getting caught by Pan Zhanle toward the end.”

Lee gave credit where it was due.

“Sun-woo and Pan Zhanle are both better athletes than I am,” Lee said. “I am going to try to reach their level.”

Lee, who joined Hwang for the 4x200m freestyle relay gold on Monday and earned silver in the men’s 4x100m medley relay Tuesday, said there’s a reason for the recent surge by South Korean swimming.

Through Wednesday, the country had won three golds, two silvers and eight bronzes in the pool, already more than double the six total medals it had at the previous Asian Games in 2018.

Lee and Hwang are now part of the new golden generation in South Korean swimming, which also includes fellow freestyler and mid-distance specialist Kim Woo-min.

“Sun-woo has been growing so much since the Tokyo Olympics, and Woo-min has been putting up great times,” Lee said. “We have a really tight bunch of athletes here. I think having that kind of camaraderie helps a great deal.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency