Kim Young-bum breaks Asian Games record in 50m freestyle, advances to final [Aichi-Nagoya AG]

Kim Young-bum, a rising sprint swimmer for South Korea, set a new Asian Games record in the men's 50m freestyle heats Monday and advanced to the final as the top qualifier.

Competing at Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan, Kim clocked 21.71 seconds at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, shaving 0.01 seconds off the previous meet record.

The old Asian Games mark of 21.72 seconds had been set by Ji Yu-chan when he won gold at the 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Kim had claimed silver in the 100m freestyle final on Sunday with a time of 47.65 seconds, finishing 0.04 seconds behind world champion Pan Zhanle of China, who took gold in 47.61. He carried that momentum into the 50m heats the following day.

Speaking to reporters after the race, Kim said he believed hard work never betrays you. "I was as happy as I was disappointed on Sunday," he said, referring to his silver-medal finish in the 100m. "The heats were my best race. In the final, I might go faster or slower, but if I swim in that light, effortless way that makes people think I don't look like a 50m swimmer, another good time will come."

Meanwhile, defending champion Ji Yu-chan also advanced to the final, qualifying third overall with a time of 22.23 seconds, raising hopes for a South Korean medal sweep.

Matsumoto Shuya of Japan, the Asian record holder in the event at 21.64 seconds, qualified second with a time of 22.03 seconds.

Kim and Ji, who took the top and third spots in the heats, will compete in the final at the same venue later Monday in pursuit of a double podium finish for South Korea.