Kim Bang-Hyun (also ''Bryan Kim'', ko, 김 방현; born June 25, 1979) is a South Korean former swimmer who specialized in the individual medley but also competed in freestyle and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian (1996, 2000, and 2004), and a two-time bronze medalist in the freestyle relays at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

(1998 and 2002). Kim became the first ever South Korean swimmer to train in the United States, where he attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

on a full athletic scholarship. While swimming for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

under head coach

Gregg Troy Gregg Troy (born December 19, 1950) is an American professional and Olympic swimming coach. As of April 2021, he is the head coach for the Cali Condors, which is part of the International Swimming League. Until 2018, he was the head coach of the ...

, Kim earned four All-American swimming honors in both the 200 and 400-meter individual medley events at the NCAA Championships. Kim also holds a total of eighteen South Korean records, set while competing for the Korean national team.

Early years and education

Kim was born in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, South Korea, the son of Kevin and Jennifer Kim. He started swimming at the age of 10, despite that he did not like the sport much at first. He finally enjoyed the sport, when his family moved to Singapore and he trained for Mark Habel at the

Singapore American School Singapore American School (SAS) is a non-profit, independent, co-educational day school located in the Woodlands area of Singapore. It offers an American-based curriculum for students in preschool through high school. One of Singapore's first in ...

. He held school records in all individual events, and was eventually named the Most Valuable Swimmer of the Year by his school in 1994 and in 1995. Kim decided to return to his home South Korea in 1996, when he eventually became a member of the nation's swimming team. After graduating from Yangjae High School, Kim attended the

in Gainesville, Florida on an athletic scholarship, and competed for the Florida Gators swimming and diving team under head coach

from 1997 to 2000. While swimming for the Gators, he received five All-American honors, and placed fourth in the 400 m individual medley at the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) championships, with the school's sixth-fastest all-time record of 3:51.90.

International career

Kim made his first South Korean team, as a 17-year-old, at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. There, he failed to reach the top 16 final in any of his individual events, finishing twenty-sixth in the 200 m individual medley (2:06.99), and twenty-first in the 400 m individual medley (4:31.16). At the 1998 FINA World Championships in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Kim competed in three events, including the 200 m butterfly. In the 400 m individual medley, Kim missed the top 16 again by 0.08 of a second, but managed to pull off a seventeenth-place effort, as his best personal result, in a time of 4:30.91. In 1999, Kim entered his junior season for the Florida Gators, when he placed eighth in the same program at the U.S. Open in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, touching the wall in 4:30.19. Kim shortened his program at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, when he swam only in the 400 m individual medley. Swimming in heat three, he picked up a seventh seed by a 6.35-second margin behind winner Alexey Kovrigin in 4:28.56. Kim failed to reach the top 8 final, as he placed thirty-third overall on the second day of preliminaries. When his nation hosted the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

, Kim won only a bronze medal, as a member of the South Korean team, in the 4×200 m freestyle relay (7:29.36). Kim also attempted for his first solo medal, but missed the podium twice in the 200 m individual medley (2:05.12), and 400 m individual medley (4:27.46) by more than two seconds. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Kim competed again in two swimming events, and also, served as a senior captain for the South Korean swimming team. After reaching the top 16 final from the Summer Universiade in

Daegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

, his entry times of 2:05.43 (200 m individual medley) and 4:25.40 (400 m individual medley) were both officially accredited under a FINA B-standard. On the first morning of the Games, Kim placed twentieth in the 400 m individual medley, his best finish in an Olympic career. Swimming in heat two, he set a South Korean record of 4:23.05 to claim a second spot by a 4.50-second margin behind winner Dean Kent of New Zealand. In the 200 m individual medley, Kim participated in heat three against seven other swimmers, including fellow three-time Olympian

Jacob Carstensen Jacob Carstensen (born 10 September 1978 in Kastrup, Tårnby) is a former freestyle swimmer from Denmark, who competed in three consequentive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1996. He won the world title in the 400m Freestyle ...

of Denmark. He edged out Philippines' Miguel Molina to take another second spot by 0.22 of a second in 2:05.06. Kim ended his third Olympic stint with a thirty-second place effort in the preliminaries.

Life after swimming

Kim graduated from the

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in psychology in 2001, and later, with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in applied physiology and kinesiology in 2005. He also received a

doctor of philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in the same course at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 2009, and has been named coordinator for the health sciences program at the University of the Sciences in 2011. Currently, he is working for the Federal Government. In addition, Dr. Kim is a part-time private swimming coach for CoachUp company, and a registered coach for

USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overal ...

. Spending most of his time in United States since his collegiate swimming career, Kim is fluent in Korean and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Personal bests (long course)

Kim held a South Korean record (4:23.05) in the 400 m individual medley from his third Olympics in 2004, until it was broken by

Han Kyu-Chul Han Kyu-chul (also ''Han Gyu-cheol'', ko, 한 규철; born December 24, 1981) is a South Korean former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle, butterfly, and individual medley events. He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and an eight-time ...

at the

two years later (4:21.75).

References

External links