Hwang Sun-woo

Hwang Sun-woo (; born 21 May 2003) is a South Korean swimmer. He is the 2024 World Champion in the men's 200m freestyle and won 6 medals in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Career 2021 In April 2021, Hwang competed at the Korean trials. He set a new South Korean record in the 100 m freestyle with a time of 48.04. He then broke the world junior record in the 200 m freestyle with a time of 1:44.96.

In July 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, Hwang was the flagbearer for South Korea together with volleyballer Kim Yeon-koung. In the 200 m freestyle, Hwang went 1:44.62 in the heats and qualified fastest for the semifinals. His time lowered his own world junior record, and broke Park Tae-hwan's national record of 1:44.80 from 2010. In the final, Hwang finished seventh in a time of 1:45.26. In the 100 m freestyle, he went 47.56 in the semifinals, breaking the Asian record of 47.65 set by China's Ning Zetao in 2014. Hwang later placed fifth in the final with a time of 47.82.

At the 2021 World Championships (25 m) in Abu Dhabi, Hwang won the 200 m freestyle in 1:41.60.

2022 At the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Hwang won the silver medal in the 200 m freestyle in a national record time of 1:44.47. In the 100 m freestyle, he came eleventh with a time of 48.08.

At the 2022 World Championships (25 m) in Melbourne, Hwang swam in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. He split 1:40.99 on the first leg, breaking Park's Asian record of 1:41.03 from 2016. The relay finished fourth in a time of 6:49.67. In the 200 m freestyle, he won the gold medal in a time of 1:39.72, lowering the Asian record again, and breaking the championship record of 1:40.95 set by Lithuanian Danas Rapšys in 2018.

2023 In July 2023, Hwang competed at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka. He won the bronze medal in the 200 m freestyle, lowering his national record to 1:44.42. He then finished ninth in the 100 m freestyle in a time of 48.08.

In September 2023, Hwang competed at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. He won the bronze medal in the 100 m freestyle in a time of 48.04. The following day, he swam in the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. South Korea won the gold medal in a time of 7:01.73, breaking the Asian record of 7:02.26 set by Japan in 2009. On day three, he swam in the men's 4 × 100 m medley relay, winning the silver medal in a national record time of 3:32.05. Hwang then won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle in a time of 1:44.40, breaking the South Korean and games records in the event. Later in the session, he swam in the mixed 4 × 100 m medley relay, winning the bronze medal in 3:46.78 to set another national record. The following day, he concluded the competition with the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay, where South Korea won the silver medal in a national record time of 3:12.96.

2024 In February 2024, at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, Hwang won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle in a time of 1:44.75. He then swam the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. The race was led by China and the US, but Hwang put South Korea in gold medal contention on the anchor leg. He split 1:43.76 and overtook the US, but finished 0.10 seconds behind China; South Korea won the silver medal in 7:01.94.

In July 2024, Hwang competed at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He finished ninth in the 200 m freestyle and missed the final; his time of 1:45.92 was 0.04 seconds slower than the eighth qualifier. He swam in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay, splitting 1:45.99 on the anchor leg to contribute to a seventh place finish; South Korea's overall time was 7:07.26.

2025 At the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, Hwang came fourth in the 200 m freestyle in a time of 1:44.72. He finished thirteenth in the 100 m freestyle in a time of 47.94.

In October 2025, at the National Sports Festival in Busan, Hwang went 1:43.92 in the 200 m freestyle, breaking the Asian record of 1:44.39 set by China's Sun Yang in 2017.

Personal best times + Long course (50 metre pool) Event Time Meet Date Note (s) 50 m freestyle 22.39 Korean National Trials 16 May 2021 100 m freestyle 47.56 Olympic Games 28 July 2021 200 m freestyle 1:43.92 Korean National Sports Festival 20 September 2025 AS

+ Short course (25 metre pool) Event Time Meet Date Note (s) 50m freestyle 21.72 World Championships 19 December 2021 100m freestyle 46.34 World Championships 21 December 2021 NR 200m freestyle 1:39.72 World Championships 18 December 2022 AS 100m individual medley 52.13 World Championships 18 December 2021

Legend: AS – Asian record; NR – South Korean record;

Former Asian record Former South Korean record

Honours 19th Korea Image Awards (2023) – Korea Image Budding Youth Award