Swim champ shows power of mental discipline

Park Tae-hwan completed a triple by winning gold in the 200, 400 and 1500-meter freestyle at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada, on Sunday. / Yonhap

By Hong Dam-young

Maybe it is all about mentality in sports. Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan, 27, with great strength of mind, has risen from the ashes of scandals and controversies.

Once a rising star who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Park fell from grace from September 2014 when he received an 18-month doping suspension after testing positive for the banned drug “Nebido.”

He then he had a legal dispute with the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), which banned Park from competing at the Rio Olympics.

He appealed against the KOC’s rule that prevented athletes from representing the nation for three years after the end of a suspension.

Less than a month before the Olympics opening ceremony, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld his appeal on July 8, allowing Park to compete.

Although it was a hard-won opportunity, Park performed poorly at the Olympics. His lack of practice because of the legal dispute partially accounted for his poor showing.

However, Park later claimed he had been pressured by Kim Chong, former Vice Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, to follow the KOC ruling and not compete.

Kim, who is in jail for being involved in the political scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye, had reportedly told the swimmer that he would offer him sponsorship and a professorship at a university if he gave up his Olympic dream.

Park Tae-hwan said his meeting with Kim had affected his mental focus, influencing his performance at the Olympics.

But not long after Park hit rock bottom, he is now turning in impressive results. In October, he won two golds at the National Sports Festival in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province in Korea. He then won four golds at the Asian Swimming Championships in Tokyo in November.

Most recently, Park completed a triple by winning gold in the 200, 400 and 1500-meter freestyle at the FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships in Windsor, Canada, on Sunday. His time for the 1500 meters

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14:15 minutes

broke the record set by Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri in 2014, by 0.59 second.

“Park has proved how important it is for sports people not to get distracted by external sources,” said Park’s former coach Noh Min-sang, according to Yonhap news agency. “Park has become more mature after going through tough times.”

Netizens also congratulated Park, with one saying, “I admire Park’s mentality in overcoming difficulties and not giving up.”

Another said, “Park must have been waiting for this moment.” Yet another said, “Park is the real winner, who didn’t submit to power and pursued his own goal.”

Park said he was looking forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.