From refugee camp to Asian Games, Syrian taekwondo duo fight for their dreams

Tokyo — During a nine-minute post-race interview following his first Asian Games gold medal win on Monday, swimmer Kim Young-beom, the men's 50-meter freestyle champion, held the trophy close to his chest in disbelief. "Man, this thing is so heavy," Kim commented, nearly choking on his words. "I might get a neck spasm." He continued, "I thought I'd feel it when I put it around my neck.

I still can't believe this gold medal is mine." The historic moment was marked by the playing of the national anthem in a large arena to congratulate the swimmer, a feeling he described as "incredible." Even after seeing his name on the board instantly after the race, Kim did not believe he had won. His title-winning performance at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre also defied expectations - he set an Asian record of 21.66 seconds, just hours after establishing another record of 21.71 seconds in the heats.

Breaking records in the heats is uncommon as athletes typically reserve their best performances for the finals later in the day. Breaking one's own record within the same day is even rarer. Ahead of the final, Kim's sole focus was to replicate the same swimming technique he had employed in the heats.