Han Kyu-chul (also Han Gyu-cheol, Korean: 한 규철; born December 24, 1981) is a South Korean former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events.[1] He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and an eight-time bronze medalist at the Asian Games (2002 and 2006).
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Han Kyu-chul |
| National team |  South Korea |
| Born | 24 December 1981 |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight | 75 kg (165 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Freestyle, butterfly, medley |
Medal record | |
Han made his first South Korean team, as an eighteen-year-old junior, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. There, he failed to reach the semifinals in any of his individual events, finishing nineteenth in the 200 m butterfly (1:59.85), and thirty-third in the 200 m individual medley (2:06.42).[2][3][4]
When South Korea hosted the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Han won a total of four medals, including two in the freestyle relays. He also enjoyed his teammate Cho Sung-Mo by giving the Koreans a 2–3 finish in the 1500 m freestyle, earning him a bronze in 15:22.38.[5][6]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Han shortened his program, swimming only in the men's 200 m freestyle. He cleared a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:50.54 from the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.[7][8] He challenged seven other swimmers in heat five, including three-time Olympian Jacob Carstensen of Denmark. Han rounded out the field to last place by two hundredths of a second (0.02) behind Hungary's Tamás Szűcs, outside his entry time of 1:52.28. Han failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed thirty-third overall in the preliminaries.[9][10]
At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Han added four more bronze medals to his collection for a total of eight. He also helped out his South Korean team, including three-time champion Park Tae-Hwan, to defend their medals from Busan in the 400 and 800 m freestyle relays.[6][11][12]
References edit
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Han Kyu-chul". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Butterfly Heat 5" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 218. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Individual Medley Heat 1" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 308. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "[올림픽/수영]한국수영 '희망' 한규철 예선 탈락" [Olympic Games: Korea's swimming hopeful Han Kyu-chul eliminated] (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 18 September 2000. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ "China and Japan Share the Gold on Day 5 of Asian Games; China's Wu and Xu Shine". Swimming World Magazine. 4 October 2002. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ a b "동메달만 11개… 안타까운 '인어왕자'" ["Mermaid prince" ends his career with a bronze] (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 8 December 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ^ "Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 5)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "2003 FINA World Championships (Barcelona, Spain) – Men's 200m Freestyle Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Men's 200m Freestyle Heat 5". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (15 August 2004). "Men's 200 Freestyle Prelims: Thorpe Fastest in 1:47.22; Hoogie, Keller, Phelps and Hackett All in the Mix". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Sano of Japan takes men's 200m IM at Asiad". Xinhua News Agency. People's Daily. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ^ "Asian Games: China's swimmers stun in Qatar". Taipei Times. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2013.