S. Korea wins bronze in men's medley relay swimming

TOKYO — South Korea claimed the bronze medal in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay swimming race at the Asian Games on Tuesday, setting a new national record in the process. The winning team, comprised of Lee Ju-ho, Choi Dong-yeol, Yang Jae-hoon and Kim Young-beom, completed the relay in 3:31.97 at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. This triumph followed China and Japan, who finished in the top two positions respectively, with times of 3:27.89 and 3:28.70.

The previous national record stood at 3:32.05, set by the South Korean team when they won silver at the 2023 Asiad. The new record was achieved by a different lineup from the heats, with Yoon Ji-hwan, Cho Sung-jae, Kim Ji-hun and Hwang Sun-woo competing. Hwang Sun-woo also secured two bronze medals, having won in the 100m freestyle and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay events earlier in the competition.

The medley relay format requires each swimmer to cover 100 meters in a specific order of styles: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. Lee Ju-ho led the team in the backstroke leg, swimming it in 53.92 seconds.