Seoul: South Korean swimmer Hwang Sun-woo finished fourth in the men's 200-meter freestyle at the world championships in Singapore on Tuesday, coming up short of his fourth consecutive medal in his main event. Hwang hit the pad in 1:44.72 to miss out on the podium at the World Aquatics Championships at the World Aquatics Championships Arena in Singapore.

According to Yonhap News Agency, David Popovici of Romania, the 2022 champion, secured his second career world title in 1:43.53, while Luke Hobson of the United States claimed the silver with a time of 1:43.84. Tatsuya Murasa, an 18-year-old swimmer from Japan, edged out Hwang for the bronze medal by clocking 1:44.54.

Hwang, who swam in Lane 5 as the second-fastest qualifier from the semifinals, had the second-fastest reaction time at 0.62 seconds, just behind Murasa's 0.60. At the halfway point of the race, Hobson was leading with 50.07 seconds, followed by Popovici at 50.58 and Hwang at 50.76.

Murasa, who reached the 100m mark in 51.07 seconds, moved ahead of Hwang at the 150m mark and covered the final 50m in 26.66 seconds, maintaining a lead of 0.18 seconds over the South Korean at the end. Hwang finished the final 50m in 26.83 seconds, but his split for the 100m-150m stretch was slower at 27.13 seconds, the second-slowest time among the eight finalists.

Hwang arrived in Singapore having been the only South Korean swimmer to win an individual medal at three consecutive world championships, a streak that concluded on Tuesday. He previously won the 200m freestyle silver in 2022 in Budapest and followed that with a bronze in the same event a year later in Fukuoka, Japan.

Last year, Hwang achieved his first career world title in Doha but was unable to defend that crown on Tuesday. Seeking personal redemption in Singapore, this was Hwang's first international competition since he missed out on the 200m freestyle final at the Paris Olympics last summer. As the reigning world champion, he entered Paris as a strong medal contender but was eliminated in the semifinals.

Hwang will now join Kim Woo-min, Lee Ho-joon, and Kim Young-beom in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay on Friday. Hwang, Lee, Kim Woo-min, and Yang Jae-hoon won silver in this relay event last year, marking South Korea's first-ever world championships medal in a relay.