(Asiad) Swimming silver medalist blames self for being 'amateurish' after missing out on gold

On September 20, in the men's 100m freestyle swimming final at the Asian Games in Tokyo, Kim Young-beom narrowly missed out on the gold medal. Leading the race with about 25 meters remaining, the 20-year-old South Korean was just ahead of Pan Zhanle of China, the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion. However, Kim admitted he lost his rhythm as he got ahead of himself, falling short by 0.04 seconds to take the silver in 47.65 seconds. Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea won the bronze in 47.79 seconds.

For the first 75 meters, Kim described the race as "perfect," but he blamed his amateurishness for his performance in the final 25 meters. He expressed frustration at not finishing strong, while also acknowledging a sense of accomplishment for earning his first individual Asiad medal after two relay medals three years ago. Kim emphasized that this loss only reinforces his status as an amateur, and he was "pretty upset" about the outcome.

Despite the disappointment, Kim expressed pride in finishing second in the race, which featured world-class swimmers, and called himself "proud" of his performance. He shared a friendly gesture with Pan, who passed by and gave Kim a thumbs-up sign. Kim humorously stated that his English is not yet adequate to converse with Pan, but he has been trying to send non-verbal messages of confidence and a gold-medal mindset.

Kim acknowledged that his competition is not over and expressed optimism about South Korea's relay performance, suggesting that he and Hwang Sun-woo are well-positioned for future relay success.