Jung Seul-ki

2.1. Early International Success (2006-2007)

Jung made her debut on the international stage with notable success in 2006. At the 2006 Asian Swimming Championships held in Singapore, she earned three medals:

• A bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke on March 6, with a time of 2:29.70.
• A silver medal in the 400m medley relay on March 9, with a time of 4:13.81, swimming alongside Jung Yu-jin, Kwon Yu-ri, and Park Na-ri.
• A bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke on March 10, finishing in 1:10.92.

Later that year, at the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, Canada, Jung secured a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke, recording a time of 2:27.09. This performance also marked a new Korean national record, surpassing her own previous record of 2:28.02.

Jung continued her medal-winning streak at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. There, she clinched two bronze medals: one in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2:27.82, and another as part of the South Korean 4×100m medley relay team.

In 2007, Jung achieved a significant milestone at the 2007 Summer Universiade in Bangkok, Thailand. She won the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke event, defeating Japan's Nanaka Tamura, who was then ranked third globally for the season. Jung's winning time of 2:24.67 not only set a new Universiade meet record, breaking Rie Kaneto's previous record of 2:25.79, but also established a new Korean national record, improving on her personal best of 2:27.09. This exceptional performance also exceeded the FINA A-cut time of 2:28.20, thereby securing her qualification for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the same Universiade, Jung also set new Korean records in the 50m breaststroke (32.29 in prelims, further improved to 32.24 in finals, breaking Byun Hye-young's record of 32.87) and the 100m breaststroke (1:09.98 in prelims, breaking her own previous record of 1:10.03).

Her record-breaking form continued through national competitions. At the 88th National Sports Festival in Gwangju, on October 9, 2007, she won gold in the women's 100m breaststroke, setting a new Korean record of 1:09.84. In February 2008, at the 2008 China Swimming Open in Beijing, she took the silver medal in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:09.30, again lowering her own Korean national record.

2.2. 2008 Beijing Olympics

Jung Seul-ki represented South Korea at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

In the women's 100m breaststroke, Jung competed in heat four, finishing second behind Italy's Roberta Panara with a time of 1:09.26. However, her performance placed her twenty-third overall, missing out on a spot in the semifinals by less than a second.

In her stronger event, the women's 200m breaststroke, Jung rebounded. She advanced to the semifinals after posting a time of 2:25.95 in the heats, securing the eleventh seed. In the semifinals, she clocked 2:26.83, matching her preliminary placement of eleventh but falling short of qualifying for the top eight final.