Lee Eun-ji misses women's 200-meter backstroke final

Korea’s Lee Eun-ji failed to advance to the final in the women’s 200-meter backstroke on Thursday, finishing in eighth place in the first semifinal at the Paris La Defense Arena in Paris on Thursday.

Swimmers compete in the women's 200-meter backstroke at the 2024 Paris Olympics in Paris on Thursday. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea’s Lee Eun-ji failed to advance to the final in the women’s 200-meter backstroke on Thursday, finishing in eighth place in the first semifinal at the Paris La Defense Arena in Paris on Thursday.

Lee, 18, finished with a time of 2:11.86, landing in the penultimate spot overall in the semifinals.

Paris marks Lee’s second Olympics, having also competed in Tokyo at age 15 where she finished in an overall 18th in the 200 meters and 20th in the 100 meters. She was the youngest swimmer in both disciplines.

In Paris, she is only swimming in the 200 meters.

Lee arrived in Paris off the back of a strong performance at the Asian Games last year, winning five medals and becoming the first Korean woman to medal in the backstroke since 1998. She holds the national record for the 100-meter backstroke.

Team Korea will be back in action in the pool on Friday as Kim Seo-yeong competes in the women’s 200-meter individual medley, followed by the mixed 4x100 medley relay team.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]