Shim Min-ji

Shim Min-ji

Personal information
Full name	Shim Min-ji
National team	South Korea
Born	25 April 1983
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle, backstroke
Medal record Women's swimming Representing South Korea Asian Games 1998 Bangkok 200 m backstroke 2002 Busan 4×100 m freestyle 2002 Busan 4×200 m freestyle 2002 Busan 4×100 m medley

Shim Min-ji (also Sim Min-ji, Korean: 심 민지; born April 25, 1983) is a South Korean former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and backstroke events.^[1] She is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004) and a three-time relay medalist at the Asian Games (2002).

Shim made her Olympic debut, as a 17-year-old teen, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where she competed in the women's 100 m backstroke. Swimming in heat three, Shim finished second behind Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry in 1:03.20, but missed the semifinals by 0.15 of a second, as she shared a nineteenth-place tie with Australia's Giaan Rooney in the preliminaries.^[2][3] She also placed seventeenth, as a member of the South Korean team, in the 4×100 m medley relay (4:16.93).^[4]

When her nation hosted the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Shim won a total of three bronze medals: 4×100 m freestyle (3:44.81), 4×200 m freestyle (8:19.62), and 4×100 m medley relay (4:13.41).^[5][6][7] She also attempted for her fourth straight medal in the 100 m backstroke, but missed the podium by a 0.48-second margin behind Japan's Aya Terakawa.^[8]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Shim competed again in two swimming events. She cleared a FINA B-standard entry time of 1:02.87 (100 m backstroke) from the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain.^[9][10] She also teamed up with Ryu Yoon-Ji, Sun So-Eun, and Kim Hyun-Joo in the 4×100 m freestyle relay. Swimming the third leg, Shim recorded a split of 56.91, but the South Koreans missed the final by two seconds outside the top 8, in a time of 3:44.84.^[11][12]

In the 100 m backstroke, Shim challenged seven other swimmers on the fourth heat, including top medal favorites Laure Manaudou of France and Reiko Nakamura of Japan. She rounded out the field to last place by 0.67 of a second behind Canada's Erin Gammel in 1:03.14. Shim failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed twenty-fourth overall in the preliminaries.^[13][14]

References

1. "Shim Min-ji". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
2. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 100m Backstroke Heat 3" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 292. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
3. "[올림픽/수영]심민지, 배영100m 준결승 좌절" [Olympic swimming: Shim Min-ji fails to enter the semis in the women's 100m back] (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
4. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 4×100m Medley Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 364. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
5. "Asian Games: Japan, China Win Three Apiece on Day Four". Swimming World Magazine. 3 October 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
6. "China Sweeps All Five Events on Day Two of Asian Games". Swimming World Magazine. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
7. "Wu and Qi Win Third Gold Apiece, as China Winds Up a Dominant Performance at Asian Games". Swimming World Magazine. 5 October 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
8. "Japan's Kitajima Breaks Barrowman's 200m Breaststroke World Record; Cracks 2:10 Barrier". Swimming World Magazine. 2 October 2002. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
9. "Swimming – Women's 100m Backstroke Startlist (Heat 4)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
10. "2003 FINA World Championships (Barcelona, Spain) – Women's 100m Backstroke Heats" (PDF). Omega Timing. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
11. "Women's 4×100m Freestyle Heat 1". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
12. Thomas, Stephen (14 August 2004). "Women's 400 Freestyle Relay Prelims: Aussie Women Qualify Fastest Ahead of Team USA; Germans and Dutch in the Mix". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
13. "Women's 100m Backstroke Heat 4". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
14. Thomas, Stephen (15 August 2004). "Women's 100 Backstroke Prelims: France's Manaudou Fastest in 1:01.27; Natalie Coughlin, Haley Cope Move Through to Semis". Swimming World Magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2013.