Kim Soo-ji (25-Ulsan Metropolitan Government) also took bronze in the mixed diving synchro 3-meter springboard with Lee Jae-kyung (24-Incheon Metropolitan Government).
Kim, who became the first South Korean diving medalist at the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju in 2019, won two medals in Doha, becoming only the second South Korean athlete to win three World Championships medals.
Kim Soo-ji and Lee Jae-kyung finished third in the mixed synchro 3-meter springboard final at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday at the Hamad Aquatic Center in Doha, Qatar, with a combined score of 285.03 points in the first through fifth dives.
After winning bronze in the women’s 3-meter springboard earlier in the day, Kim Soo-ji won another bronze medal.
It was the best Lunar New Year gift for Korean diving.
With her bronze in the women’s 1-meter springboard in Gwangju, Kim now has three World Championship medals to her name.
Kim and Lee also became the first South Koreans to win a World Championship medal in the synchronized event.
In the final, Kim and Lee executed a stunning 205B in the fourth period, where they jumped backwards with their backs to the pool, grabbed their legs and spun two and a half laps to move into third place.
In the fifth period, Kim made a mistake on her 5152B with twist, but her rival Grace Reid-Ross Haslam (GBR) made a bigger mistake, allowing Kim and Lee to hold on to third place.
The British team’s total score of 278.28 was 6.75 points lower than the South Koreans.
Last year in Fukuoka, Kim Soo-ji and Lee Jae-kyung finished fourth in this event.
“If we finish the mixed synchro 3-meter event in Doha without any mistakes, we can move up one spot from last year,” Kim said.
True to his prediction, Kim Soo-ji and Lee Jae-kyung moved up one spot from last year and took home the bronze medal.
To date, four South Korean swimmers have won medals at the World Aquatics Championships.
Park finished first in the 400-meter freestyle and third in the 200-meter freestyle at the 2007 Melbourne Games and won gold in the 400-meter freestyle in Shanghai in 2011.
Hwang Sun-woo (Gangwon-do) finished second in the men’s 200-meter freestyle in Budapest in 2022 and third in Fukuoka in 2023.
Kim Soo-ji won back-to-back bronze medals in the women’s 1-meter springboard in Gwangju in 2019 and in the women’s springboard and mixed 토토 synchronized 3-meter springboard in Doha this year, joining Park Tae-hwan as the most decorated South Korean medalists.
Kim is the only other South Korean woman to win a medal.
Lee Jae-kyung became the first South Korean male diver to reach the World Championships podium, albeit in the mixed synchro event.
South Korean swimming’s total World Championships medal tally stands at eight (two gold, one silver, five bronze).
After being diagnosed with a torn cartilage in her left knee last December, Kim battled through the pain to win two medals in Doha. She also qualified for the women’s 3-meter springboard in Paris.
‘Atmospheric plastic diver’ Lee Jae-kyung also had an unforgettable moment.
Lee competed in her first Asian Games last year in Hangzhou, where she won three medals – two silver and one bronze.
At the World Championships in Doha, she qualified for Paris in the men’s 3-meter springboard and then went on to win a medal in the mixed synchro.
Madison Kearney-Dominic Bedgood (AUS) won the final with 300.93 points, followed by Chiara Pelacani-Mateo Santoro (ITA) in second with 287.49 points.
Diving powerhouse China did not compete in the event.
