(Gwangju Swimming) S Korean diver-medal -- South Korean diver Kim Su-ji captured a historic bronze in the women's 1m springboard at the FINA World Championships on Saturday, becoming the first South Korean diver to win a medal at the biennial competition.
Kim's bronze at Nambu University Municipal Aquatics Center in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, was also the host nation's first medal of this year's championships. She scored 257.20 points.
Chen Yiwen of China ran away with the gold with 285.45 points, and Sarah Bacon of the United States got silver with 262 points.
Kim is the first female athlete from South Korea to reach the world championships podium. Previously, male swimmer Park Tae-hwan had been the only South Korean, man or woman, to have won a world championships medal, having grabbed two gold medals and one bronze medal in freestyle swimming.
"This is incredible. I am so honored," Kim said. "Diving isn't really popular in Korea, and I haven't been getting a lot of attention. Hopefully, people will start following diving more closely after my medal."
(Yonhap)