With about a week to go until the start of the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, perhaps the biggest rivalry of the meet is already heating up.
Double Olympic gold medalist Sun Yang sparked the showdown this week with a series of television commercials in which he directly addresses his rival, South Korea’s first-ever Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Park Tae-hwan.
Depending on how you view them, the videos could range from good-natured ribbing to somewhat cocky trash talk. That seems like a purposeful balance by the commercial producers, who combine in-your-face dialogues with humorous settings – for example, in one spot, Sun challenges Park to retake an Asian record (“Athlete Park, you set a new record at the last Asian Games, but I already broke the record. So, can you challenge my record at the Incheon Asian Games?” he says, according to GlobalPost) while clip-clopping around the deck in flippers:
In another, Sun makes a crack at Park’s Korean stardom – Park is such a big hero in his homeland that the brand-new pool hosting the Asian Games is named after him – before jumping into the pool wearing children’s pool floaties:
Sun’s dialogue: “I know the Swimming Stadium is even named after you…So what?” according to Tribe, who posted the videos on YouTube.
While floating on circular pool toys, Sun also takes time to credit his rival’s stardom, though he rolls it into a joke, following his effusive praise with a smile and the line “Don’t let me win too easily.”
Probably the most openly humorous is Sun’s “Let’s make a bet” spot, which features underwater footage of Sun swimming with a garbled audio track that sounds like Sun is talking underwater. Sun asks Park which of the two swimmers is more handsome before offering a bet – not about good-looks, but about who will perform better in Incheon.
“Do you think you’re more handsome or I’m more handsome?” Sun says, according to Tribe.
The commercials are sponsored by 361 Degrees, a Chinese sporting goods business whose logo appears at the end of each TV spot alongside the Asian Games mural.
Sun is of course coming off a tumultuous year in which he changed coaches and dealt with a major suspension for driving and crashing his car without a driver’s license. He wasn’t at his best at Chinese Nationals, but still qualified for the Asian Games team for the opportunity to take on Park in his home country.
It’s especially hard to fully grasp the tone of the TV ads without understanding the language (Sun uses a mix of Chinese and some Korean). It appears Sun is keeping the rivalry in good fun, but he also hasn’t been afraid to express his confidence about the upcoming matchups with Park. Reuters recently quoted Sun as saying the following in the lead-up to Incheon:
“I’ll only be up against Park in the 200m and 400m. He’s not an opponent in the 1,500m,” Sun said.
“Actually there’s no fight to the finish with Park. The Asian 200m and 400m records are originally mine, I believe he also knows that.
“My speed in the last two years is a lot faster. Four years ago at Guangzhou, I didn’t have the power. I was only a bit slower than him in competition and was a very big threat.
“Now, I’ve had four years of hard training, I’ll definitely be better than him.”
That 1500 remark is probably more factual than cocky, as Park specializes in the 200 and 400 frees and has recently branched out into the IM races, not so much the mile. Sun, though, still has to prove he’s back from his layoff and the distraction-filled year. Without a doubt, the Sun-Park matchups in Incheon are shaping up to be among the most intriguing battles of this year’s Asian Games.
The swimming portion of the Asian Games begins next Sunday, September 21st, and runs six days through Friday, September 26th. Stay tuned to SwimSwam for full coverage of all the swimming action.
Sun has always been hilarious to me, although usually more unintentionally than this. I think the ads are great; I’m rooting for Sun but I like Park too and hope they’ll push each other to new heights regardless of whether they set any records.
Now that he’s shooting commercials and worth millions one would think he could slap a pair of braces on that grill 🙂
Ya it was very taxing for Thorpe because apparently it took hours to remove his ‘seal like’ full enhanced swim suit which eventually took off in the evolution and innovation of techno suits down the road till MP demanded no more Biedermann technosuitswim records.
SY is much bigger and better than Grant Hackett as quoted by David Cotterell and will obliterate Thorpe’s records. The friendly banter between Park and SY is healthy and great for the prime swimming events in Incheon and quite certainly the world record for 400m free will be breached and 200m will fall below 1.44 or 1.43! Park is one of finest freestyler but falls short !! The king of freestyle reign officially start from Incheon Games……King Sun Yang.will be best swimmer of 2014 and thereafter.
Until Sun Yang obliterates Thorpe’s record, his 3:40.08 is still the longest standing male swimming WR (textile) in history.
We will probably see this record broken on a few days, and probably by some crazy margin (Like he did with the 1500 free)
I would not be surprised at all. Sun Yang should be able to swim 3:38.
Heck, even 14 years ago, Thorpe should have brought it down to 3:38.
And even his last WR of 3:40.08 he was gliding into the wall at the finish to save energy for his other 7 events.
Who knows how good Sun will be. I don’t think he’s been training as well the past couple of years and as a result don’t expect these 3:38 predictions but I could be wrong. Time will tell.
The question in my mind is – will the rivalry lead to either of them being able to challenge the World Record in the 400m?
Sun’s form at the Olympics clearly showed he was capable of breaking it if he hadn’t glided into the wall, and coming off that original DQ before he was reinstated, I’d say Park was probably not in the best state to perform as well as he could have done and still posted a 3:42 low. I remember that Bohl had stated that Park’s aim was to get close to if not beat the WR himself there too.
This time round, Sun has definitely improved in the shorter distances, gaining strength and I’m sure that he… Read more »
I agree . It is great 2 Asian boys are fighting it out for world número uno . I was lucky enough to observe a Korean training camp maybe 04/05 . In retro Park must have been in there. I liked their program & when Park broke out on the World Cup circuit shortly after I said to a coach – that boy is something . To which he replied – nah he is not tall enough.
You’re right about that dolphin kicking! Adding that to his 400 free would knock the record down for sure! Yang’s freestyle efficiency is off the charts; I love to watch the underwater views of his stroke.
I like it. As much as I’m an advocate of letting your swimming do the talking, nothing gets me pumped up like some good natured smack-talk. I’m more of a fan of Park, but I like that Sun is putting his pride on the line.
I totally agree with this
Move over Magnussen, Sun has taken your place as swimmings new d bag.
? could you explain that comment ?
I declare you are wrong about James . No one I have ever known who has met him would say that .I used to see him as a kid at his home swimming pool where he was always friendly & seemingly popular around town.
And you never know he might turn up at your favourite squad . He is currently looking for a new direction & training opportunity . I bet any coach on the planet would want him .
Before the 2012 Olympics, he referred to himself as an “Alpha Male.” He also got cocky to the point where it was rumored teammates were rooting against him. To be fair to Magnussen, he has toned it down a lot and has become humbled. But he built himself up going into the Olympics and pretty much imploded and embarrassed himself.
It’s pretty well documented, look up his behavior before the Olympics. He was full of himself.
I’m curious as well. I haven’t heard that particular rumor about Magnussen, and his interviews seem pretty laid back, unless there’s one I missed.
How many olympic gold medals does Magnussen own?
None . Neither are dirtbags either.
I disagree. I think this is a good natured talk and it would help to popularize swimming if top swimmers have their own characters.
I understand that swimmers in USA are not supposed to say all these things.
If Magnussen were a d bag, what would have that made Gary Hall jr?
I don’t know about you guys but I couldn’t understand one word.