Three-time Rio gold medalist Choi Ji-sung, 28, missed out on a medal by a “slip of paper” again.

The South Korean swimmer finished fourth in the men's 150-meter individual medley sport class SM4 final at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games with a time of 2 minutes, 37.45 seconds on the touchpad at La Défense swimming pool in Paris, France, on Tuesday (June 2).

He was just 0.16 seconds behind third-place finisher Angel Camacho Ramirez of Mexico (2:37.29).

In Para swimming, where swimmers vary widely in ability, 0.16 seconds is a very close margin.

Choi Ji-sung missed out on a medal by a mere 'slip of paper'.

It wasn't the first time she had to swallow her disappointment. She had a similar result in the 50-meter breaststroke (sport class SB3) final, her first event at the Games, on March 30 at the same venue.

She clocked 50.73 seconds, just 0.21 seconds behind third-place finisher Miguel Luque of Spain (50.52) and failed to win a medal.

This time, the gap was smaller.

On this day, Choi fought his way through the water.

He passed the first 50 meters in 52.06, sixth overall, but then picked up the pace and touched the 100-meter touchpad in 1:48.90, third overall.

He battled hard in the closing stages, but just missed out on the podium.

“I didn't see the exact time, but I heard that I lost by a lot,” said Lee Jae-sung in the post-race press area, adding, ”I can't say anything about it because I lost anyway.”

“I lost the touch fight twice,” he said, ”and I think it was because I wasn't good enough. The third-place finisher probably tried harder than I did,” he admitted in defeat.

It's not over yet.

Choi Ji-sung will compete for the last time on Sunday in the men's 50-meter backstroke (sport class S4).

It will be a farewell race for the swimmer, who announced his retirement from the national team after this event.

“My original plan was to win a medal and be relaxed for my last race,” he said, ”Backstroke is not my main sport. I wanted to enjoy it because it's my last time, so I applied for a non-main event,” she explained.

“It's been hard for me to represent my country,” said Choi, who is entering the final chapter of her swimming career, ”and there was a lot of pressure to lead Para swimming after winning three gold medals at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.”

“Winning the world championships last year made me even more hungry and desperate for a Paralympic medal, and I think that was my downfall,” he said.

Choi, who has a congenital brain lesion, took up swimming as a rehabilitation therapy at the age of 13, and by the time he was 20, he had become a prominent figure in South Korean Para swimming, winning the 50, 100 and 200-meter freestyle at the Rio Paralympic Games.

However, as her disability worsened, she was unable to achieve the same level of success.

At the Tokyo Paralympics, he failed to medal in any of the events he competed in.

In despair, Ji-sung considered retirement, but he switched his main event from freestyle to breaststroke and worked hard to prepare for the Paris Paralympics. 파워볼사이트