Park Tae-Hwan, South Korea's 1st Olympic Swimming Champion, Fails Doping Test
Park Tae-hwan, South Korea's first Olympic swimming gold medalist, is "shocked" to have failed a doping test.
BBC News reports the examination in question took place during September's Asian Games and was overseen by FINA, the sport's governing body.
Park's representatives suggest the positive result is due to a doctor's mistake after Park was allegedly administered with an illegal substance while receiving treatment from a chiropractor. It is suggested Park "asked" the doctor to ensure his injection adhered to all of the sport's guidelines before being inserted.
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The 25-year-old's agency provided an official statement, reported by BBC News.
"As a world class swimmer, Park Tae-hwan has been extremely careful about what he takes, and he hasn't even taken cold medicine so that he wouldn't fail doping tests," the statement reads. "Park is more shocked by this result than anyone else."
Team GMP also suggested court action will be taken, saying the organisation will "hold (the hospital) civilly and criminally liable" for Park's result.
A spokesman for the World Anti-Doping Agency—who usually carry out such tests—confirmed Park will face an international hearing before potential punishment is received. "A world-class swimmer like Park is tested frequently out of competition," said a WADA official, per Yonhap News Agency (h/t BBC News). "The severity of his penalty will be determined after his hearing."
The Associated Press (h/t Yahoo) report suggests prosecutors "couldn't immediately be reached for comments." It's also stated the Korean Swimming Federation is yet to officially confirm Yonhap's assertions.
Park is an extremely popular sportsman in South Korea after winning the country's first swimming medal, which came at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Park's gold medal was won in the 400-meter freestyle in China, where he also added another silver before securing two further second-place finishes in London 2012. His quartet of successes remain the nation's only medals in Olympic swimming to date.
Doping charges can be met with a two-year ban, according to the AP report (h/t Yahoo), which states Park can expect his hearing in February.
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