With Olympian Park Tae Hwan having expectedly been left off the South Korean Olympic roster due to his having served a suspension for doping, the 26-year-old is scheduled to meet once again with his nation’s officials to plead his case.
Park tested positively for testosterone back in 2014 and served an 18-month ban, which ended on March 2nd. However, the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) has its own additional rule that applies another 3-year ban on any athlete who had been found guilty of doping. Thus, Park was ruled out of Rio.
That didn’t stop the swimmer from racking up 4 individual titles at his nation’s Olympic Trials last month, however, as he earned gold across the 100m/200m/400m/1500m freestyle events, all under the FINA “A” cuts. He subsequently begged the KOC for them to repeal their ruling and is now reportedly scheduled to meet with KOC officials once more in a final attempt to get a shot at competing at this year’s Olympics.
According to Cho Young-ho, Secretary-General of the KOC, Park will be visiting the organization’s headquarters in Seoul on May 25th. Cho will most likely represent the KOC, while Park is expected to be accompanied by his family.
Park and the KSF and KOC must be planning quite a dog-and-pony show for the final act of this travesty. I’m sure there will be some surprises, but the result (Park OK’d to swim in Rio) won’t be one of them.
I agree, it’s time to throw in the towel for Rio Park and save some dignity if there’s any left at this point.