“Play without regrets”
Securing a ticket to the finals by placing 3rd overall in the semifinals
Joo-ho Lee (29, Seogwipo City Hall) became the first Korean athlete to reach the finals of the backstroke event at the World Aquatics Championships.
Lee Joo-ho hit the mark with a record of 1 minute 56.40 seconds in the second group of 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).
Lee Joo-ho, who placed 2nd in his group and 3rd overall, succeeded in advancing to the finals, where the top eight semifinalists will participate.
Lee Joo-ho is the first Korean athlete to reach the finals in the backstroke event at the World Championships.
Lee Joo-ho repeatedly suffered in the semifinals of the men's 200m backstroke at the World Championships.
At the 2019 Gwangju World Championships in the 200m backstroke, he placed 12th overall in the preliminaries and advanced to the semifinals, but was 11th overall in the semifinals and was thwarted from advancing to the finals.
At the 2022 Budapest World Championships, he advanced to the semifinals in 9th place in the preliminary round, but finished in 12th place in the semifinals. At last year's Fukuoka tournament, where he tied for 10th place in the preliminaries and advanced to the semifinals, he finished in 13th place and did not qualify for the finals.
The 200m backstroke is Lee Joo-ho's main event, and he won a silver medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in September last year.
In the men's 200m backstroke semifinals, Jack Akins (USA) took first place with 1 minute 56.32 seconds, and Hugo Gonzalez (Spain) took second place with 1 minute 56.38 seconds.
The finals will be held at 1:59 a.m. on the 17th.
Lee Joo-ho said through the Korea Swimming Federation, “When I first competed in the World Championships, my goal was to pass the preliminaries. “From then on, he continued to challenge himself with the goal of advancing to the finals, moving up one level at a time,” he said, adding, “I am happy to advance to the finals.”
He continued, “I want to play without regrets in the finals. “It is important to go at my own pace from the beginning without being conscious of other athletes,” he said, expressing his determination, saying, “If I recover well and swim as prepared, I will get good results.” 섯다