Choi Dong-yeol of Korea holds up his bronze medal from the men's 100-meter breaststroke swimming event at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 25. Yonhap
Lost in the shuffle of the two sensational Asiad swimming gold medals for Korea on Monday was a bronze medal that ended a long drought for the country.
Choi Dong-yeol won the bronze in the men's 100-meter breaststroke in Hangzhou, becoming the first Korean in 61 years to reach the podium in that event.
Choi, 24, broke his own Korean record with a time of 59.28 seconds. He had set the previous mark just two months earlier at the world championships, with 59.59 seconds.
With Qin Haiyang of China, the reigning world champion, running away with the gold at 57.76 seconds, Choi battled another Chinese, Yan Zibei, for second place. Yan ended up 0.19 second faster than the Korean.
Choi said afterward he had come a long way to wear the Asian Games medal around his neck.
"Just a few years ago, it was surreal for me just to compete at an international meet," Choi said. "I can't believe I got to stand on the podium here. Since I finished third here, there's room for me to go higher. If I can keep working on my weaknesses, I should be able to reach the top at some point."
Choi credited his training camp in Australia earlier this year with propelling his career further. In May this year, the Korea Swimming Federation selected a few backstroke and breaststroke swimmers to Australia, one of the world's top swimming powers, for a four-week camp.
"We have a good training environment in Korea, but we learned so much from Australia because of their long history in swimming," Choi said. "I was chosen for that special occasion, and I wanted to make it count."
Choi Dong-yeol of Korea competes in the men's 100-meter breaststroke swimming final at the Asian Games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena in Hangzhou, China, Sept. 25. Yonhap
Choi's bronze medal was sandwiched by Korea's first two swimming gold medals in Hangzhou: Ji Yu-chan's stunning race to the top in the men's 50m freestyle, and then the victory by the men's 4x200m freestyle relay team, with Yang Jae-hoon, Lee Ho-joon, Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo combining to break a 14-year-old Asian record in the process.
Choi said his teammates, regardless of their strokes, all inspire him.
"Watching Hwang Sun-woo and other freestyle guys succeed has motivated me and other swimmers too," Choi said. "These guys have proven that Korea can be competitive in international swimming. And that gave me strength today." (Yonhap)
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