Kim Woo-min on Feb. 12 celebrates after winning the men's 400 m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships held at Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Seon Ah

Kim Woo-min has won the gold medal in the men's 400 m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships.

He claimed the event on Feb. 12 with a time of 3 minutes 42.71 seconds at Aspire Dome in Doha, Qatar, improving his personal best by 1:21.

Kim is the nation's first swimmer in 13 years to win a gold at the tournament after Park Tae-hwan, who won one each at the 2011 edition in Shanghai, China, and the 2007 competition in Melbourne, Australia. 

"I didn't expect to win, but find it very meaningful and rewarding that my first world championship medal is gold," Kim said after his win. "I was not in the best shape, but I think that this good result will have a positive impact on my races in the Paris Summer Olympics."

The runner-up was Elijah Winnington (3:42.86) of Australia, who won the gold in the same event at the 2022 competition in Budapest, Hungary. The bronze went to Lukas Martens (3:42.96) of Germany, who also finished third in the same event at last year's championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

Next for Kim at the Qatar tournament are the men's 800-m freestyle on Feb. 13 and the 4x200-m freestyle relay on Feb. 16.

sofiakim218@korea.kr