Park Tae-hwan seeks redemption in Rio

South Korea’s Park Tae-hwan stretches as he arrives at the training pool of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Wednesday. / AP-Yonhap

By Park Jae-hyuk

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan will swim in the men’s 400 meter freestyle heat at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro at 01:48 a.m. Sunday (KST).

In his fourth and probably last Olympics, the 26-year-old will compete in three more freestyle events including the 200 meter (Monday), the 100 meter (Wednesday) and the 1,500 meter (Aug. 13).

The men’s 400 meter freestyle is the event in which Park won consecutive medals in previous Summer Games. The first Asian swimmer to win gold in the 2008 Beijing Games added silver in London in 2012.

However, Park’s bid to stand on the Olympic podium will be tough as he placed only sixth in the world with 3 minutes and 44.26 seconds, which he posted in his country’s Olympic trials in April. His time is nearly three seconds behind the leader, Mack Horton of Australia.

The Australian rookie is the top ranker of this season with 3:41.65, followed by China’s Sun Yang with 3:43.55, Connor Jaeger of the United States (3:43.79), James Guy of the U.K. (3:43.84) and Italy’s Gabriele Detti (3:43.97).

“Park is expected to compete for the medal with those four swimmers including Horton, Sun, Jaeger and Guy,” Park’s former coach Roh Min-sang told Korean reporters in Rio, Friday. “But I am counting on Tae-hwan’s experience,” he added.

After his practice session Thursday, Park said to the reporters with a smile, "I am only sixth in the world and people probably aren't all that interested in me." He said, "I think it's a miracle that I am at the Olympics at all."

Park spent hard days to join the Rio Games. In Sept. 2014, Park tested positive for the banned drug Nebido, a testosterone supplement. The International Swimming Federation (FINA) suspended him for 18 months, until March of this year.

After the end of his suspension, Park participated in the Olympic Trials in April, but the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) made him ineligible for Rio, based on its rule preventing athletes from representing their country for three years after the end of a doping suspension.

Disobeying the controversial KOC regulation, Park filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the world’s top sports tribunal upheld his appeal on July 8, less than a month before the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics.