Fourteen-year-old sprinter phenom breaks 200-meter record, sets sights on more

Wang Seo-yoon, a 14-year-old sprinter, broke the national middle school girls’ record in the 200 meters on Sunday.

Wang clocked 24.34 seconds to win the girls’ middle school 200-meter final at the 55th National Junior Sports Festival at Busan Asiad Main Stadium. She sliced 0.21 seconds off the previous national middle school record of 24.55, set by Kwon Ye-eun in 2024.

Wang has now broken three national middle school girls’ records this month alone.

Earlier this month, she set a new middle school record of 11.83 seconds in the girls’ 100 meters at another national championship.

That mark was not only the fastest ever recorded in the middle school division, but also the best time posted this season across all domestic women’s divisions, including at the senior level.

Her explosive rise has even earned her the nickname “Run, Hany,” a reference to the 1988 Korean animated series of the same name.

On Saturday, Wang also teamed up with her peers to set another middle school record in the 400-meter relay at the National Junior Sports Festival. Her team finished the race at 47.20 seconds.

“I was somewhat expecting to break the domestic 200-meter record,” Wang said. “I’m grateful to my coach and training staff.”

Wang is scheduled to compete at the ICTSI Philippine Athletics Championships 2026 Under 18 in New Clark City, Philippines, in next month. 

“Now that I’ve broken the middle school record [in Korea], I want to challenge the national senior record as well,” Wang said.

Across all divisions, Korea’s women’s national record for the 100-meter sprint stands at 11.49 seconds as set by Lee Young-sook in 1994. The record for the 200-meter run is 23.69 seconds, set by Kim Ha-na in 2009.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KIM YOUNG-JU [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]