Swimmer Park Tae-hwan gets in 1st practice in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) — South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan on Monday got in his first pre-Olympic training in Rio de Janeiro, where he’ll attempt to win a medal in his third straight Summer Games.

The 2008 Olympic champion in the 400m freestyle arrived in the Brazilian host city of the 31st Summer Olympics on Sunday, after wrapping up a two-week session in Orlando, Florida. The 26-year-old went right to work at Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Monday with his Australian coach, Duncan Todd.

Park chose to train at the warm-up pool for just over two hours, instead of the actual competition venue. The warm-up pool is off-limits to the media.

“It’s not the easiest of circumstances, and I am still trying to adjust to the surroundings,” Park told reporters before boarding the bus back to the athletes’ village. “I haven’t seen the main pool yet. My focus for now is on getting acclimated.”

Park also revealed some logistical problems. He has two personal trainers, but only one of them has been credentialed to join him at the pool in the run-up to the Olympics. Both trainers aren’t allowed to move into the athletes’ village with Park.

Park is expected to return to Olympic Aquatics Stadium Monday evening for his first look at the main arena.

Though Park has often talked about trying to have fun and enjoying himself in Rio, it has been anything but smooth sailing for him leading up to Rio.

The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) initially banned him from the Olympics, based on a rule that prohibits athletes from representing the country for three years after their doping suspension.

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan speaks to reporters after his practice at Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2016 Summer Games on Aug. 1, 2016.

Park, after testing positive for testosterone in 2014, served an 18-month ban that began retroactively in September 2014 and ended in March this year.

Park appealed the KOC rule at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and the world’s top sports tribunal on July 8 upheld the appeal, making the swimmer eligible for the national team on the final day for the entry submission.

In April, Park entered the South Korean Olympic trials, with his Rio status still in limbo, and met Olympic qualifying times set by FINA, the international swimming governing body, in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle. He won all four races by comfortable margins.

Park entered just one more competition before Rio, a minor international meet in Australia, where he finished third in the 400m, fourth in the 200m and ninth in the 100m.

Park’s forte has long been the 400m free — in addition to his 2008 gold medal, Park won a silver in 2012 and won two world championships in that distance — but his best 400m time of the year, 3:44.26 at the Olympic trials, ranks him sixth in the world in 2016.