Park Tae Hwan Announces Continuation Of Swimming Career

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Park Tae Hwan announced today via his Instagram account that he would continue training and swimming competitively.

The Korean Olympian has been a staple on the international scene for over 12 years making his Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens Summer Games where he was disqualified in prelims of the 400-meter free after a false start. Seeking redemption at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, Park became the first Asian male to win a gold medal in the 400-meter free and the first Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal. He later added a silver in the 200-meter free to his 2008 collection.

In London for the 2012 Olympic Games the 27-year-old added another two silver medals to his Olympic collection when he placed second in both the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyles.

The next quadrennial proved to be a tough one for the three-time Olympian as he was delivered an 18-month ban after testing positive for testosterone in the fall of 2014. While Park’s suspension ended several months before the start of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games the South Korean Swimming Federation has a policy which prevents athletes who have tested positive for a banned substance from representing their national team for a total of three years in addition to the FINA ban.

With the support of the public behind him Park continually begged the federation to overturn their ban. It wasn’t until the beginning of July, just under one month until the start of the Rio Games did the federation overturn their decision and allow Park to represent South Korea in Rio.

Park went on to have a disappointing run in Rio, not making it past the heat swims of the 100-meter, 200-meter, or 400-meter freestyles before withdrawing from the 1500-meter altogether.

Moving on from the disappointment of the 2016 Olympic Games, Park seems focused on the next Quadrennial as he continues his swimming career. Currently he holds three LC World Championship medals and will look to add to his collection at next summer’s 2017 World Championships in Budapest.

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A post shared by Park Tae-hwan (Unofficial) (@parktaehwan89)

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Nicole

7 years ago

This Instagram account is not Park Tae Hwan’s. It is by his fans, his instagram is private.