Korea’s first backstroke medal challenger in the finals on the morning of the 17th
Joo-ho Lee (29, Seogwipo City Hall) reached the finals of the World Aquatics Championships for the first time in Korean backstroke history.
Lee Joo-ho ranked 3rd out of 16 people with a time of 1 minute 56.40 seconds in the men’s 200m backstroke semifinals at the 2024 International Aquatics Federation World Championships
held at the Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar on the 16th (Korean time) and advanced to the finals (top 8). 슬롯사이트 순위
Lee Joo-ho, who competed in Group 2 of the semifinals, finished the race in second place after Jack Akins (21, USA),
who touched the touchpad in 1 minute 56.32 seconds.
In Group 1, the only player to reach the finish line faster than Lee Joo-ho was Hugo Gonzalez (24, Spain).
Gonzalez’s semifinal time was 1:56.38.
Joo-ho Lee
Lee Joo-ho was the first Korean athlete to reach the finals of the World Championships across all backstroke events.
Lee Joo-ho, the ‘signature’ who holds the Korean record in the men’s 100m backstroke and 200m,
was judged to be more internationally competitive in the 200m than in the 100m.
Three consecutive times in the 200m backstroke, including 11th place in Gwangju in 2019 (1 minute 57.68 seconds),
12th place in Budapest in 2022 (1 minute 57.55 seconds), and 13th place in Fukuoka in 2023 (1 minute 58.05 seconds).
Lee Joo-ho, who advanced to the semifinals of the World Championships,
prepared for the Doha competition with the goal of advancing to the finals.
His confidence grew as he repeatedly broke Korean records at the Hangzhou Asian Games in September last year (1 minute 56.54 seconds, silver medal)
and the 2024 Business Representative Selection Competition in November (1 minute 56.05 seconds).
And he achieved the feat of advancing to the finals in Doha.
Lee Joo-ho said through the Korea Swimming Federation after the semifinals,
“When I first participated in an international competition, my goal was to pass the preliminaries,” and added,
“Afterwards, I advanced one step at a time, aiming to pass the semifinals.
“I am happy to have advanced to the finals after constant challenges,” he said.
The finals of the men’s 200m backstroke at the Doha World Championships will be held at 1:59 a.m. on the 17th, Korean time.