The news that Korea’s swimming hero Park Tae-hwan twice failed doping tests has shocked the country that takes great pride in the swimmer lovingly nicknamed “Marine Boy.”
Park gave the country its first Olympic gold medal in swimming in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His gold in the 400-meter freestyle and silver in the 200-meter freestyle were seen as setting a milestone for the country as it joined an exclusive club of countries that produce Olympic swimming gold medalists. The swimmer’s recent efforts to reclaim his former glory after a number of years in a slump ― he only managed a silver and five bronze medals in last year’s Incheon Asian Games ― was applauded by the people who wanted to see the 25-year-old reach the pinnacle once again.
The Korea Swimming Federation said earlier this week that Park was tested ahead of the Asian Games which opened in September and was notified of the result last October. The test was repeated with the same sample in December at Park’s request and the result again came out positive.
Park’s management agency blames a doctor with having injected the swimmer with testosterone, a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. It claims that the doctor gave assurances that the injection did not contain banned substances. The agency has filed charges against the hospital with the prosecutors. The prosecutors said that the hospital claims to have given Park the injection to boost his hormone levels and was unaware that testosterone was a banned substance.
While Park claims he did not knowingly take the banned substance, he will need to prove to FINA, the international governing body of swimming, that he “bears no fault or negligence” to avoid sanctions. Park is scheduled to appear for a FINA hearing in Switzerland on Feb. 27.
If Park receives a ban of two years or longer, it would effectively end his career, as he would not be able to compete in the world championships in Kazan, Russia, in July in next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He also stands to lose the silver and bronze medals he won at the Incheon Asian Games.
Many great athletes have been brought down from glory by succumbing to the lure of performance-enhancing drugs. It might be difficult to resist the temptation of these drugs, especially when their performance is slipping. A truly great athlete should humbly accept the fact that he or she is no longer in top form. Park could still have been a hero to great many children even if he did not win any more golds. At the moment, he stands to lose so much more than medals.
