Daily Times

SEOUL: South Korean swimmer Park Tae-Hwan said on Tuesday that he was still hoping for competing in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics despite the signs that his national Olympic committee might be reconsidering an extended ban for doping.

The multiple-Olympic medalist came out of an 18-month drug ban last month which was placed after he tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid in out-of-competition controls before the 2014 Asian Games. But he remains barred from competing in the Rio Games under a rule of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) that bans athletes from representing the country for three years after the expiration of any doping ban.

“I believe things will work out fine,” Park told Yonhap News TV. “I hope something good will happen so that I can compete at the Olympics,” he said. He has begged for a chance to compete in what would be his third Olympics. At one point he even got down on his hands and knees during a press conference.

The KOC has stood firm, although its chief Kim Jung-Haeng appeared to offer a small ray of hope. “I used to be an athlete myself so, in my purely personal opinion, I think it would be good if Park can compete in the Olympics,” he said on Tuesday. “Doping is a serious evil that should be rooted out, but polls show that more than 70 per cent of South Koreans want Park to compete in the Games,” he added.

Previously Park filed an appeal for arbitration at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and now he is set to meet KOC officials next week. He was once the poster-boy of South Korean swimming courted by advertisers and idolised by the fans. He won 400m freestyle gold and 200m freestyle silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and two silver medals at the 2012 London Olympics in addition to 400m world titles in 2007 and 2011.

On his competitive return to the pool last month, he easily won the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle events at the 88th Dong-A meet, which doubles as a national trial.