Kim Min-suk (swimmer)
South Korean swimmer (born 1979) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kim Min-suk (Korean: 김민석; RR: Kim Min-seok; born February 3, 1979) is a retired South Korean swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and backstroke events.[1] He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a double medalist at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan.[2]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Kim Min-suk | |||||||||||||||||
National team | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||
Born | (1979-02-03) 3 February 1979 (age 45) Seoul, South Korea | |||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||
Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) | |||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||
Strokes | Freestyle, backstroke | |||||||||||||||||
Club | Hanjin Heavy Industries | |||||||||||||||||
College team | Dong-a University | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kim made his official debut, as a 17-year-old, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He failed to reach the top 16 final in the 100 m backstroke, finishing in thirty-ninth place with a time of 58.43.[3] He also placed fifteenth as a member of the South Korean team in the 4×200 m freestyle relay (7:45.98), and seventeenth in the 4×100 m medley relay (3:50.84).[4][5]
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Kim decided to experiment with the sprint freestyle, competing only in two swimming events. He posted FINA B-standards of 22.99 (50 m freestyle) and 51.14 (100 m freestyle) from the Dong-A Swimming Tournament in Ulsan.[6][7] In the 100 m freestyle, Kim placed twenty-fourth on the morning's prelims. Swimming in heat six, he picked up a second spot by 0.21 of a second behind winner Peter Mankoč of Slovenia in a lifetime best of 50.49.[8] Two days later, in the 50 m freestyle, Kim missed the semifinals by a small fraction of 0.02 seconds, finishing a tie with China's Jiang Chengji in a South Korean record of 22.82.[9]
When his nation hosted the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Kim won a total of two medals, one gold and one bronze. In the 50 m freestyle, Kim was delighted and overwhelmed by the home crowd, as he shared a gold medal with Uzbekistan's Ravil Nachaev in a matching time of 22.86, just 0.04 seconds outside his record from Sydney two years before.[10][11] He also captured a bronze, along with his teammates Sung Min, Han Kyu-Chul, and Ko Yun-Ho, in the 4×100 m freestyle relay (3:23.58).[12]