There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance. In the leadup to the Asian Games in China this fall, members of the South Korean men's freestyle relay team toed the line perfectly, expressing confidence in their ability to win the country's first-ever Asiad relay title, without having their declarations come off as cocky.
On Monday night in Hangzhou, Yang Jae-hoon, Lee Ho-joon, Kim Woo-min and Hwang Sun-woo had their opportunity to put their words into action in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay final. That they went out and did it -- winning the elusive gold and breaking the continental record in the process -- is a testament to the quartet's collective talent, willpower and flair for the dramatic.
South Korea captured the gold over China with an Asian record time of 7:01.73. The previous record of 7:02.26 by Japan had stood for more than 14 years.
The South Korean record, though, lasted barely two months. The same four swimmers broke their own national record twice on the same day while finishing sixth at the world championships in July in Japan at 7:04.07.
And that was with Hwang, the leadoff in that relay, feeling under the weather, after competing in the 100m and 200m freestyle events in a jam-packed schedule.
In Hangzhou, though, Hwang was much fresher, having just completed the 100m freestyle Sunday night and won a bronze medal there. That favorable schedule was one of many reasons for the swimmers to feel so confident about their chances of winning the gold and breaking the Korean record once again.
"I was pleased with my bronze medal in the 100m freestyle but I still felt like something was missing," Hwang said. "Today, my teammates and I came together to post an unbelievable time and break the Asian record. This is extremely gratifying."
Still just 20, Hwang already has two world championships medals and two Asian Games medals to his name. Kim turned 22 last month, and Lee is also 22. Yang is the old pup at 25.
They are part of what many consider a golden age in South Korean swimming. Minutes before the relay breakthrough, the 21-year-old Ji Yu-chan captured a shocking gold in the men's 50m freestyle.
"The national team program has been on the upswing, and the average times across the board have improved," Hwang observed. "Our goal is to continue to meet people's expectations and set records."
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Hwang, Kim, Lee and Lee Yoo-yeon posted a time of 7:15.03. In just about two years, with Yang having replaced Lee Yoo-yeon, the team has shaved nearly 14 seconds off that time -- a rate virtually unheard of in relay swimming.
"We've been improving our time for the past couple of years, and this is the moment we've all been dreaming about," Lee Ho-joon said. "I think we deserved this result. Our hard work really paid off."
This was also the first of what could be as many as four gold medals for Kim, who will later compete in the men's 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle events. In those three races, Kim is widely regarded as the best in Asia today.
No South Korean swimmer has won more than three gold medals at a single Asiad.
"This is a great start to my Asian Games," Kim said. "I will be able to compete the rest of the way without pressure. This gives me so much confidence."
So far in Hangzhou, the relay team and Ji are the only non-Chinese men to win a gold.
Yang said he was well aware of China's early dominance in swimming but it didn't affect his team's preparation.
"We knew the goal that we were working to accomplish, and so we felt absolutely zero stress about what China was doing," Yang said. "We only concentrated on what we were supposed to do."
Source: Yonhap News Agency