After being handed an 18-month suspension by the FINA Doping Panel stemming from a positive doping test back in September 2014, South Korean swimmer Park Tae Hwan and his camp have issued an official apology.
The brief statement reported on supersport.com reads, “Park Tae-hwan and his agency would like to sincerely apologise for the positive drug test result and for disappointing those who continue to support Park.”
Park would be eligible for competition again on March 3rd, 2016, which, in theory, would enable the four-time individual Olympic medalist to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, there is what seems to be a subjective domestic rule within the Korean Swimming Federation’s constitution, which tacks on an additional 3-year suspension for a national athlete to begin at the end of the FINA-mandated disciplinary period.
On the likelihood of that rule being applied in this particular case, Korean Olympic Committee spokesperson Park Dong-Hee says, “Once the 18-month disciplinary period is over, and if (Park’s) participation in the Rio Olympics becomes a social issue, it will be possible to review the revision of athlete selection rules from the perspective of what is best for national interest.”
Park will be in park at the rio Olympics. I don’t see him being a factor in either the 200 or the 400 free!
Ok, piling on time. Want to thumb this down, click away.
Mea sorta culpas suck. When GH Jr, the Big Lebowski, peed positive for week the parent in me said not good dude, but the pragmatist in me then said, well not performance enhancing. Try beer next time.
When Ous went positive for speed I again thought not good. But he was forthright about it and let’s be literal: he did it as a stay awake aid to finish an end of semester exams all nighter and then went to a December meet and swam practice times with a speedo and a beard. A mistake, yes. But one I easily look past as just a mistake and he… Read more »
This is not an apology for making a mistake. Just an impersona statement bemoaning a positive drug test. And it did not come from Park himself.
Jeez man, show a spine and face it. Or don’t say anything at all. No statement would have been better than this.
I hope they strip him of his Olympic medals. There’s been allegations of him doping for years, it’s just absurd.
“… what is best for national interest.”
Setting a standard for drug violations
~~ or ~~
Winning medals in the Olympics
Hmmmm, I wonder which they will decide is more in the nation’s interest???
Maybe they decide medals deliver more glory than honorable competition, and compromise on their standards. Then their tarnished hero, sans enhancement, could well fail to deliver anyway.
Maintaining high standards is always the right answer… not necessarily the most rewarding in the near term, but best for the long term. I hope our Korean friends have the courage to uphold their own values.
“Park Tae-hwan and his agency would like to sincerely apologise for the positive drug test result .”
He’s sorry for getting caught? How about being sorry you cheated?
How do you say cheater in Korean?