{
  "id": 3614468,
  "title": "After lengthy struggle, veteran swimmer An Se-hyeon falls back in love with her sport",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/after-lengthy-struggle-veteran-swimmer-an-se-hyeon-falls-back-in-love",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-26T23:42:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/sports/20260827/after-lengthy-struggle-veteran-swimmer-an-se-hyeon-falls-back-in-love-with-her-sport"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "An Se-hyeon, a veteran swimmer from Korea, has recently rekindled her passion for her sport after a long period of wavering interest. For around eight years now, she had been fluctuating between love and disinterest in swimming. At the peak of her abilities around 2017 and 2018, she achieved remarkable success. At the 2017 world championships in Budapest, she secured the fourth position in the women's 200-meter butterfly, a feat that remains the highest placement by a Korean female swimmer at the competition. Her time of 2:06.67 still holds the national record for this event. At the same championships, she established the national record with a time of 57.07 seconds in the 100-meter butterfly, which has remained unbeaten since. In 2018, An claimed two bronze medals at the Asian Games, one in the 100-meter butterfly and another in the 4x100-meter mixed medley relay. Despite being in her early twenties at that time, seemingly entering her prime, she gradually disappeared from the limelight as the rest of the Korean swimming team started accumulating medals at the Olympics, Asian Games, and world championships. An became an overlooked name. Now aged 30, she has once again surfaced. She qualified for this year's Asian Games by winning the 50-meter butterfly title at the national team trials in March. Following this victory, she participated in a training session on Tuesday at the Jinch venue.",
  "summary": "For the past eight or so years, Korean swimmer An Se-hyeon kept falling in and out of love with her sport. An was at the peak of her powers around 2017 and 2018. At the 2017 world championships in Budapest, she finished fourth in the women's 200-meter butterfly, the highest placement by a Korean female swimmer at the competition. Her time of 2:06.67 still stands as the national record. Also at…",
  "key_points": [
    "Veteran swimmer An Se-hyeon rekindles passion for swimming after 8-year struggle.",
    "Achieved national record in 200m and 100m butterfly in 2017.",
    "Qualifies for 2022 Asian Games by winning 50m butterfly title."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Rekindling her passion for swimming after a lengthy slump, An Se-hyeon is poised to revive her career, reclaiming her spot in the competitive Korean swimming scene at the age of 30.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "After lengthy struggle, veteran swimmer An Se-hyeon falls back in love with her sport",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/after-lengthy-struggle-veteran-swimmer-an-se-hyeon-falls-back-in-love-3616288",
        "published": "2026-08-26T23:22:23.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "After lengthy struggle, veteran swimmer An Se-hyeon falls back in love with her sport",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/after-lengthy-struggle-veteran-swimmer-an-se-hyeon-falls-back-in-love-3615840",
        "published": "2026-08-26T23:47:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}