Woo Chul Explained

Woo Chul
Fullname:	Woo Chul
Strokes:	Freestyle
Birth Date:	20 June 1978
Birth Place:	Seoul, South Korea
Height:	1.710NaN0
Weight:	660NaN0
Show-Medals:	yes

Woo Chul (also Woo Cheol, Korean: 우 철; born June 20, 1978, in Seoul) is a retired South Korean swimmer, who specialized in middle-distance freestyle events.^[1] He is a two-time Olympian (1996 and 2000), and a double medalist at the Asian Games (1994 and 1998).

Woo started his competitive swimming, as a 16-year-old South Korean teenager, at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan. He helped the South Koreans earn a silver medal in the 4×200 m freestyle relay with a time of 7:33.61.

Woo's Olympic debut came at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He failed to reach the top 16 final in the 400 m freestyle, finishing thirtieth in a time of 4:03.11.^[2] He also placed fifteenth as a member of the South Korean team in the 4×200 m freestyle relay (7:45.98).^[3]

At the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, Woo added a bronze medal to his collection for the South Korean swimming team in the 4×200 m freestyle relay. He also attempted for his first individual medal in the 400 m freestyle (4:00.66), but missed the podium by 0.22 seconds behind Hong Kong's Mark Kwok.^[4]

Woo competed only in two swimming events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He posted FINA B-standards of 1:53.44 (200 m freestyle) and 3:59.35 (400 m freestyle) from the Dong-A Swimming Tournament in Ulsan.^{[5] [6]} On the first day of the Games, Woo placed twenty-seventh in the 400 m freestyle. He held off his rival Kwok by almost half the body length to lead the second heat in a lifetime best of 3:58.31.^{[7] [8]} The following day, in the 200 m freestyle, Woo placed twenty-ninth on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat three, he came up short in second place by 0.27 of a second behind 17-year-old Damian Alleyne of Barbados, breaking a South Korean record of 1:53.02.^{[9] [10]}

Notes and References

1. Woo Chul. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417234247/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/u/u-cheol-1.html. dead. 17 April 2020. 27 May 2013.
2. Web site: Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 400m Freestyle Heat 3 . . . 39 . 28 April 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110523164915/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1996/1996v3p1.pdf . 23 May 2011 .
3. Web site: Atlanta 1996: Aquatics (Swimming) – Men's 4×200m Freestyle Relay Heat 3 . . . 51 . 28 April 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110523164915/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1996/1996v3p1.pdf . 23 May 2011 .
4. News: Woollard. Rob. Kwok strikes well-deserved Games bronze in freestyle. South China Morning Post. 10 December 1998. 28 May 2013.
5. Web site: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 3). PDF. Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. 23 April 2013.
6. Web site: Swimming – Men's 400m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 2). PDF. Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. 23 April 2013.
7. Web site: Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 400m Freestyle Heat 2 . . . 133 . 26 March 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110819181023/http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2000/Masters/sw/SWresults.pdf . 19 August 2011 .
8. News: Newberry. Paul. Thompson anchors U.S. relay win; Thorpe wins 400 free. https://archive.today/20130615211705/http://www.canoe.ca/2000GamesSwimming/sep16_tho.html. usurped. June 15, 2013. Canoe.ca. 16 September 2000. 28 May 2013.
9. Web site: Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 200m Freestyle Heat 3 . . . 125 . 23 April 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110819181023/http://la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/2000/Masters/sw/SWresults.pdf . 19 August 2011 .
10. News: Dolan breaks own world mark in 400 IM. https://archive.today/20130616043443/http://www.canoe.ca/2000GamesSwimming/sep17_dol.html. usurped. June 16, 2013. Canoe.ca. 17 September 2000. 28 May 2013.