South Korea’s Olympic committee clears Park for Rio

The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) has reportedly scheduled an emergency meeting for Friday, July 8th, where the topic of whether or not banned swimmer Park Tae Hwan will be able to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games is at the top of the agenda.

The Games run from August 5-21.

While many Koreans remain furious with the once-popular Park for his positive test, CAS has blocked an attempt to punish an athlete beyond what is prescribed by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules.

They have confirmed they will respect the ruling and will now grant the four-time Olympic medallist and two-time world champion a place on the team at Rio 2016, according to the Yonhap news agency.

First came a dramatic plea, with South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan dropping to his knees on worldwide television.

In 2011, the Swiss-based tribunal ruled that the International Olympic Committee’s “Osaka Rule”, which banned athletes serving suspensions of at least six months from competing at the next Games, violated its own statutes. He was left off the preliminary roster announced on May 11, even after meeting Olympic qualifying times in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle at the national team trials in April.

He took gold and silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, followed by two silvers at the 2012 London Games.

Now that the CAS has ruled in favor of Park, the KOC will also discuss amending the controversial rule that had kept Park off the team.

That suspension expired in March but under Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) rules the 26-year-old remained ineligible for selection until 2019. In response, Park, who initially requested the CAS to wait so he could work things out with KOC, notified the arbitration body, asking it to continue the appeal process.

CAS has previously struck down double-barrelled punishments for athletes banned for doping-related offences.