(Asiad) Injured swimmer pulls out of 2 races

TOKYO, September 23 - Korean swimmer Kim Woo-min has decided to withdraw from two upcoming races after suffering a shoulder injury during the first two events at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The Korea Swimming Federation announced that Kim will not be defending his gold medal in the men's 800-meter freestyle competition, set for Thursday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Earlier on Wednesday, Kim also withdrew from the men's 200m freestyle heats.

Following his performance in the 1,500m freestyle final on Tuesday, where he finished last, Kim revealed that he had been competing with a partially torn labrum and a rotator cuff tear in his left shoulder. Despite this, Kim had contributed to South Korea's bronze medal in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay earlier in the week.

A top mid-distance swimmer for South Korea, Kim turned 25 on September 23 and had previously won the world title and Olympic bronze medal in the 400m freestyle in 2024. He also claimed a world bronze in the same event in 2025. At the 2023 Asian Games, Kim was the sole South Korean swimmer to secure three gold medals – in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, and the 4x200m freestyle relay. He had expressed his hope on Tuesday to still compete in the 400m freestyle, his primary event, scheduled for Friday.