South Korea's Hwang Sun-woo was knocked out of the semifinals in the men's 100-meter freestyle at the world swimming championships Wednesday, ending his individual portion of the competition in Japan.

Hwang finished ninth with a time of 48.08 seconds in the semifinals, with only the top eight advancing to the final scheduled for Thursday at Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A in Fukuoka.

Hwang was only 0.02 second behind the last qualifier, Jack Alexy of the United States.

Hwang won the bronze medal in the 200m freestyle Tuesday but won't compete for a medal in the 100m freestyle, his second and last individual race.

Hwang owns the national record in the 100m freestyle at 47.56 seconds.

Hwang is set to race in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay Friday.

Source: Yonhap News Agency