Kim Seo-yeong not dwelling on disappointing result

During her training for the women's 200m individual medley at the world championships, South Korean swimmer Kim Seo-yeong was so confident that she felt she could break her own national record.And that confidence never waned in the warmup at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju on Monday. And the 25-year-old carried that self-assurance into the pool in the final.Kim left the water wondering where it had gone. She finished sixth among eight finalists at the FINA World Championshi

More SportsJuly 23, 2019

Swimmers 'don't trust' Sun as doping row boils over

 GWANGJU, South Korea (AFP) - World championship swimmers slammed China's Sun Yang over lurid doping allegations and said competitors were firmly behind Australia's Mack Horton, who snubbed the Olympic star on the podium.    America's Matt Grevers claimed many competitors "don't trust" Sun, while world record-holder Lilly King revealed athletes "erupted in applause" after Horton refused to join his rival on the podium for photos after the 400 metres f

More SportsJuly 22, 2019

Malfunctioning equipment forces solo re-races in preliminary

Malfunctions with the starting equipment forced two swimmers to race alone in the heats of the men's 100m backstroke at the world championships on Monday.    Simone Sabbioni of Italy and Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago both had their initial races disrupted when the wedge, which allows backstroke swimmers to gain leverage off the wall, gave way.     Sabbioni had to race alone twice, as the wedge failed again in his second attempt. On his third race, Sabbion

More SportsJuly 22, 2019

Tears flow as water polo players head into uncertain future

After losing their last game of the world championships on Monday, South Korean women's water polo players shared teary hugs.No, they weren't consoling each other because they lost to Cuba 30-0 to finish in last place in the 16-team tournament at the FINA World Championships. They were sad that they now had to go their separate ways -- most of them back to school -- because, as it stands, the national women's team will cease to exist. There are no professional or semi-pro clubs that these buddin

More SportsJuly 22, 2019

Kane stunner earns Spurs victory over Juventus

SINGAPORE (AFP) -- Harry Kane scored a stunning 93rd minute winner from the halfway line as Tottenham Hotspur edged Juventus 3-2 in an entertaining pre-season friendly in Singapore on Sunday.The England captain latched onto Lucas Moura's short pass and launched a first-time shot high over a scrambling substitute keeper Wojciech Szczesny as Spurs rallied past new manager Maurizio Sarri's Italian champions in front of a delighted National Stadium crowd. "It's probably one of the best goals of

SoccerJuly 22, 2019

Former world champion Park Tae-hwan offers encouraging words to Korean swimmers

If any South Korean athlete knows about competing under pressure, it's Park Tae-hwan, the only swimmer from the country to have won an Olympic gold medal and a world title.With the FINA World Championships underway in Gwangju, Park, an honorary ambassador for the competition, paid a visit to this southern metropolitan city to meet with fans and support national team athletes. Park arrived to spend a few hours here after all but one South Korean swimmer were eliminated in the heats on Day 1 of th

More SportsJuly 21, 2019

Golf-Korean duo An and Park on the rise at British Open

South Korea's An Byeong-hun roared up the British Open leaderboard as he picked up three strokes by the halfway stage of his third round on Saturday.With the leading pairs still to tee off on a pleasant day on the Antrim coast, An made headway as he got himself to five under, just three off the lead held jointly by Ireland's Shane Lowry and American J.B. Holmes.An, who carded a four-under 67 on Friday, gathered birdies at the second, fourth, fifth and eighth to jump 20 places up the leaderboard

GolfJuly 21, 2019

S. Korea paired with N. Korea in World Cup qualification

KUALA LUMPUR -- South Korea will face North Korea in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.In a draw held at the Asian Football Confederation House in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, South Korea and North Korea were paired in Group H, along with Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka.Coached by Paulo Bento, South Korea are the top-ranked team in the group at No. 37, followed by Lebanon (86th), North Korea (122nd), Turkmenistan (135th) and Sri Lanka (201st).The second round will go on

SoccerJuly 17, 2019

[Trending] Teen soccer star Lee Kang-in entangled in ‘love-stagram’ incident

Korean soccer star Lee Kang-in, 18, might have embarked on a new relationship, considering subtle moves he has made on Instagram in recent days. The guesswork has prompted some fans to call for an explanation from Lee. In an online community here, speculations surfaced that Lee could be dating a woman who is two years older than the teen prospect. The only purported evidence so far is that Lee’s official Instagram account started following a private account, believed to belong to the myste

SoccerJuly 17, 2019

S. Korea's Kim Sei-young wins LPGA Marathon Classic

South Korean golfer Kim Sei-young has captured her ninth LPGA title, winning the Marathon Classic tournament in Sylvania, Ohio.The 26-year-old shot a 22-under 262 to win the four-round tournament on Sunday (local time). She shot a six-under 65 on the last day to edge out Lexi Thompson of the United States by two strokes at the par-71 Highland Meadows Golf Club.The win marked Kim's ninth career title on the LPGA Tour and her second of the year. The 26-year-old, who picked up a check of $262,500,

GolfJuly 15, 2019

S. Korea hammered by Hungary in women's water polo debut

Host South Korea was destroyed by Hungary 64-0 in its FINA World Championships debut in women's water polo Sunday, taking a beating of historic proportions before stunned home fans.South Korea was thoroughly overmatched in every aspect of the game imaginable, as the merciless Hungary poured in 34 goals in the first half and 30 more in the latter half in Group B action at Nambu University Water Polo Competition Venue in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul.The result set the record for the larg

More SportsJuly 14, 2019

S. Korean diver Kim Su-ji wins historic bronze

South Korean diver Kim Su-ji captured a historic bronze in the women's 1m springboard at the FINA World Championships on Saturday, becoming the first South Korean diver to win a medal at the biennial competition.Kim's bronze at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, was also the host nation's first medal of this year's championships. She scored 257.20 points.Chen Yiwen of China ran away with the gold with 285.45 points, and Sarah Bacon of the United

More SportsJuly 13, 2019

[Exclusive] Open-water swimmers embrace new challenge, aim for Tokyo Olympics

Despite being brand new, South Korea’s fledgling open-water swim team hopes to popularize the sport here by turning in a strong performance at the 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju.As the FINA host nation, Korea competed in an international open-water swimming competition for the first time in its history Saturday morning, with a hastily assembled team taking to the waters off the country’s coastal city of Yeosu at the Yeosu Expo Ocean Park Open Water Swimming Competi

More SportsJuly 13, 2019

[Herald Interview] Diver Woo Ha-ram eyes 1st medal after strong performance in preliminaries

No diver in South Korean history has ever managed to notch a medal in an Olympic or world championship event, but hopes are high for 21-year-old Woo Ha-ram, who finished third in the preliminary men’s 1-meter springboard competition Friday.“I'm glad that I got a better result than I expected. I generally tried to play it safe and prevent mistakes, which is why I think I did well. This is the first time I finished third in a preliminary,” Woo said in a post-match interview, addi

More SportsJuly 13, 2019

S. Korean duo reaches final in synchronized diving

The South Korean diving tandem of Kim Yeong-nam and Woo Ha-ram advanced to the final in the men's synchronized 3m springboard at the FINA World Championships on Saturday.Kim and Woo scored a combined 376.47 points to rank fifth after six attempts at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, well inside the cutoff line of the top 12 for the final.Xie Siyi and Cao Yuan of China won the preliminary with 447.18 points. They won the silver medal in this eve

More SportsJuly 13, 2019

Bruised nose and all, S. Korean swimmer finishes open water race

In the early stages of the men's 5km open water swimming race at the FINA World Championships on Saturday, South Korean Baek Seung-ho took an errant elbow from another contestant to the nose.It stung him so much that Baek had trouble breathing. He briefly thought about pulling out but then Baek remembered who he was racing for."I didn't want to embarrass myself while representing my country," Baek said after finishing in 48th place at Yeosu EXPO Ocean Park in Yeosu, a city about 100 ki

More SportsJuly 13, 2019

Hungarian swimmer takes 1st gold medal of competition

Kristof Rasovszky of Hungary won the men’s 5km open water swimming title for the first gold medal of the 18th FINA World Championships on Saturday.Rasovszky claimed his first career world title in a time of 53:22.10 at Yeosu EXPO Ocean Park in Yeosu, a city about 100 kilometers to the south of the main host city Gwangju.Logan Fontaine of France got the silver in 53:33.20, and Eric Hedlin of Canada was the bronze medalist at 53:32.40. This was the first medal event of these championships, w

More SportsJuly 13, 2019

S. Korean women’s water polo team to debut

The fledgling South Korean women’s water polo team will make its FINA World Championships debut on Sunday against two-time champion Hungary.After earning its spot as the host nation, South Korea hastily gathered former swimmers in late May and molded them into neophyte water polo players. In the preliminary round, they will face three of the top five teams from the 2017 world championships, with Hungary (fifth) to be followed by Russia (third) and Canada (fourth).In diving, Woo Ha-ram will

More SportsJuly 13, 2019

Gwangju kicks off 17 days of swimming festivities at World Championships

Kwangju Women’s University Universiade Gymnasium opened three hours before the official opening ceremony began at 8:20 p.m., with the anticipation for the FINA World Championships riding high in the sunny skies above Gwangju. The 18th World Aquatics Championships, the first to be held in South Korea, officially commenced with an opening ceremony on Friday. The event will feature 2,639 swimmers from 194 countries competing across six disciplines and 76 events until July 28.South Korean Pres

More SportsJuly 12, 2019

FINA makes a splash in Gwangju, despite low turnout

GWANGJU -- The 2019 FINA World Aquatics Championships kicked off Friday, bringing athletes and tourists to Gwangju from all over the world, but the venues were far from packed and a number of people expressed disappointment over the number of empty seats. Advance ticket sales were high enough to satisfy the organizers, despite initial concerns that swimming isn’t a popular spectator sport in South Korea.“As the ticket sales have already reached 85 percent, I can confidently predict w

More SportsJuly 12, 2019