2024-07-27 23:15:22
All members of the men’s 800m relay team were moved to a hotel near the stadium.
Members of the Korean swimming team’s men’s 800m relay team, including Hwang Seon-woo and Kim Woo-min (both from Gangwon Provincial Office), have decided to leave the athletes’ village and use external accommodations.
On the 26th (local time), Korea Swimming Federation President Jeong Chang-hoon, who visited the stadium to watch the national swimming team training at the Paris La Defense Arena in France, announced, “The six swimmers in the 800m relay decided to leave the athletes’ village and use external accommodations until the 31st of this month,” and “We found a hotel that is a 5-minute walk from the stadium.”
Chairman Jeong continued, “Originally, it would have taken about 15 to 20 minutes to travel from the stadium to the athletes’ village, but currently, there are many congested areas, so it takes 50 minutes one way.” He added, “It takes 2 to 3 hours for a round trip, and they said the buses don’t have air conditioning. The athletes’ village facilities themselves aren’t good, so we decided to use outside accommodations. This is to help the athletes maintain their physical condition.”
Korean swimming is dreaming of producing multiple medalists at this Olympics. It is their determination to continue the medal streak that was cut off after the 2012 London Olympics.
Kim Woo-min will compete in the men’s 400m freestyle, his main event, on the 27th, the first day of the competition, and challenge for a medal.
Kim Woo-min, who is ranked 4th in this year’s men’s 400m freestyle record rankings after Lucas Martens (Germany, 3:40.33), Elijah Winington (3:41.41), and Samuel Short (both from Australia, 3:41.64), is considered a strong medal candidate.
Hwang Sun-woo, who won three consecutive World Championship medals in the men’s 200m freestyle and a gold medal at the Doha Games in February this year, is also a strong medal candidate.
South Korea’s swimming team, led by Hwang Sun-woo and Kim Woo-min, is also dreaming of winning its first ever Olympic team medal in the men’s 800m relay.
However, the national team suffered from inconveniences due to the poor facilities of the athletes’ village and the inadequate transportation system.
Hwang Seon-woo said on the 25th, “Some buses that take you from the athletes’ village to the stadium have air conditioning, while others don’t. The windows are taped shut, perhaps for security reasons, so you can’t open them.” He added, “Since there are so many athletes riding on them, it can get hotter than the outside temperature. Sometimes it feels like a sauna.”
He also complained, saying, “It takes about 40 to 45 minutes to get there and back. The bus schedule is ambiguous, so it took me about an hour and a half to get there today.” He also said, “The current transportation system is inadequate, so it’s very difficult to get there and back.”
If the situation does not improve on the day of the game, it could affect the performance. Hwang Seon-woo expressed his concern, saying, “If that happens on the day of the game, it is a really big problem. I am worried,” and “I think we need to find a solution.”
When the athletes experienced inconvenience, the swimming federation moved quickly. They immediately looked for accommodations near the stadium and found accommodations for the athletes.
Lee Ho-jun (Jeju City Hall), Kim Young-hyun (Anyang City Hall), Lee Yu-yeon (Goyang City Hall), and Yang Jae-hoon (Gangwon Provincial Office), who will compete in the 800m relay along with Hwang Seon-woo and Kim Woo-min, are scheduled to move to a lodging facility near the stadium on the 27th.
Chairman Jeong emphasized, “I told them to tell me right away if there was anything inconvenient from the time they left Korea. The federation should pay the most attention to managing the athletes’ condition. I also had some regrets about the facilities in the athletes’ village, so I chose to use external accommodations.”
While outside accommodations could pose security issues, Chairman Jeong said, “The federation staff will be staying there, and there are coaches staying in nearby accommodations. It’s not something to worry about.”
The men’s 400m freestyle, which Kim Woo-min will compete in, will be held on the 27th, and the men’s 200m freestyle, which is Hwang Sun-woo’s main event, will be held on the 28th and 29th. The men’s 800m relay preliminaries and finals will be held on the 30th.
Hotel reservations are only available until the 31st of this month, so what to do after that is undecided. Chairman Jeong said, “I think I will either look for nearby accommodations or return to the athletes’ village.”
[파리=뉴시스]
2024-07-27 23:15:22