By Yoon Chul
Staff Reporter
Korean swimming icon Park Tae-hwan returned to Korea Monday after a greatly successful overseas training trip in Australia.
Park arrived in Australia on Jan. 16 to train with new head coach Michael Bohl, who is also head coach of the Australian national team. The trip culminated with the New South Wales State Open Championships last weekend, where Park captured three gold medals in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter freestyle.
"The wins in training really helped me regain some confidence," the Beijing Olympic gold medalist said.
"I especially enjoyed working with Michael Bohl, who really helped me regain my enjoyment for swimming."
It was the 20-year-old's first competition since a disastrous world championship in Rome last July.
"This is a good start to the season, I hope to keep this confidence going," Park said.
The South Korean is working towards retaking his position as the best short distance swimmer in Asia from China's Zhang Lin at the Asian Games, which will be held in Guangzhou in November.
Zhang was second to Park in the 400 meters in Beijing, but won bronze in Rome and added gold in the 800 meters with a new world record.
Park wasted little time getting back to training, he was back in the pool on Tuesday at the National Training Center in Taeneung in Seoul. He will head back to Australia in April for a second training session in Brisbane.
At the last Asiad in 2006, Park won three gold, one silver and three bronze medals, the most by any single athlete, and was named the Most Valuable Player.