SHINee's MINHO completes triathlon swimming leg faster than goal despite facial injury from participant's foot

SHINee's MINHO faced an unexpected accident during a triathlon when he was struck in the face by another participant's foot. His determination to continue the race despite a swollen eye and bleeding from his mouth caught the attention of viewers.

In the 672nd episode of the MBC entertainment program 'I Live Alone' broadcast on the 6th, MINHO's intense challenge participating in a triathlon was revealed. Aiming to improve his record, MINHO faced an unexpected injury during the first event, the 1.5km swim, leading to a difficult race.

On this day, MINHO set a goal to reduce his swimming time to under 30 minutes. Showing an early fast pace, he expressed high expectations for breaking his record, stating, "I'm going to do something big today." However, while maintaining his momentum, he had to briefly stop after colliding with another participant.

Regarding the physical contact that occurs during triathlon swimming, MINHO explained, "Actually, a certain amount of physical contact is allowed during swimming. There are even people who grab your shoulder and pull you. In swimming, it can't be helped. You have to move back and forth." He noted that physical contact is inevitable due to the nature of the event where multiple participants swim simultaneously in a limited space.

The issue was that the collision was more than just simple physical contact. MINHO recounted the situation, saying, "I got hit in the face here by a foot, and it felt like I was bleeding." He further confessed, "Every time I breathed, I tried to [lick my lips]. Because the water tasted salty, I couldn't tell if it was blood." After being struck in the face underwater, the bleeding made it difficult to confirm whether he was actually bleeding while continuing the swim.

Although he could have checked the extent of the injury and stopped the race, MINHO set off again without hesitation. Refusing to let his will to improve his record be broken, he eventually completed the 1.5km swim with a time four minutes faster than his original goal. His tenacity in continuing the race despite the unexpected injury was prominent.

Once out of the water, the traces of the injury were clearly visible on MINHO's face. Watching this, Jun Hyun-moo expressed sympathy while examining MINHO's face, saying, "You got hit in the eye, too. Your eye looks strange." MINHO admitted, "I got hit, so it's slightly swollen." Although he achieved his goal of improving his record, the impact of being struck hard in the face during the swim resulted in swelling around his eye.

Having faced an unexpected accident at the very first stage of the triathlon, MINHO's challenge—not stopping even when bleeding and exceeding his target time—once again demonstrated both the intensity of the race and his strong competitive spirit.

Read the original (Korean)