1. Park Tae-hwan has four Olympic medals, five world titles, and 20 Asian Games medals.
49 Facts About Park Tae-hwan
1. 2.
Park Tae-hwan won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle and a silver in the 200-meter freestyle events at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
3.
Park Tae-hwan won two silver medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 200- and 400-meter freestyle.
4.
Park Tae-hwan is the first Asian swimmer to claim a gold medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle, and the first-ever South Korean swimmer to win any Olympic medal in swimming.
5.
Park Tae-hwan holds 3 Asian Records, all in Men's Freestyle.
6.
Park Tae-hwan is best known for his impressive range and versatility, as he is able to compete at international level in 100-, 200-, 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle.
7.
On September 27,1989, Park was born in Seoul, South Korea to a middle-class family.
8.
Park Tae-hwan's father is a saxophone player and his mother is a dancer.
9.
Park Tae-hwan is an alumnus of Kyunggi High School and Dankook University.
10.
Park Tae-hwan graduated from Dankook University in February 2012, where he majored in Physical Education.
11.
Park Tae-hwan met his first love when they were in Dankook University.
12.
Park Tae-hwan is one of Asia's top men's freestyle swimmers.
13.
Park Tae-hwan was voted Most Valuable Player at the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar where he won seven medals including three gold.
14.
Park Tae-hwan was voted Swimming World's Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year in 2006.
15.
Park Tae-hwan has allegedly faced many financial difficulties, despite being a world-class athlete.
16.
Park Tae-hwan was left to support his own athletic career for half a year.
17.
In 2013, it was revealed that Park Tae-hwan did not have a swimming pool to train in.
18.
In March 2013, Park Tae-hwan signed with the Incheon Metropolitan City's swimming team.
19.
Park Tae-hwan has since been receiving an annual salary from the city.
20.
Park Tae-hwan was hit by a steroid scandal as prosecutors confirmed on January 27,2015 that he tested positive in a doping test.
21.
Park Tae-hwan's doctor had administered Nebido - a relatively new anabolic steroid.
22.
The doctor was fined $10,000 for the incident which resulted in an 18-month ban by FINA for Park Tae-hwan, thus ruling the former Olympic champion out of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
23.
Park Tae-hwan began swimming at the age of 5 when his doctor suggested it would be good for his asthma.
24.
Park Tae-hwan began his competitive swimming career at the age of 7, earning several medals in junior competitions.
25.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, which was his first international competition, 14-year-old Park Tae-hwan was the youngest athlete of Team South Korea.
26.
However, Park Tae-hwan was disqualified for a false start in the preliminary heat of the men's 400-meter freestyle.
27.
Park Tae-hwan later confessed that his disappointment over this fueled him to improve his starts, and he now has one of the fastest reaction times among top elite swimmers, consistently posting under 0.70 of a second.
28.
Shortly thereafter at the 2004 FINA Swimming World Cup, Park Tae-hwan was the runner-up in the men's 400-meter freestyle event.
29.
Park Tae-hwan continued his competitive success in subsequent years, most notably at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, where he won three golds, one silver and three bronze medals, the most medals won by a single athlete at the Games.
30.
At this event, Park Tae-hwan won two gold medals and one silver medal.
31.
Park Tae-hwan was named the 2006 Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine, beating out Olympic medalist Australian Grant Hackett for the honor.
32.
Park Tae-hwan won triple gold at the FINA Swimming World Cup 2007 in Berlin.
33.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Park Tae-hwan won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle event and a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle event.
34.
Park Tae-hwan is the first Asian swimmer to claim a gold medal in the men's 400-meter freestyle, and the only Korean to win an Olympic medal in swimming to date.
35.
Park Tae-hwan's winning time of 3:41.86 made him the second fastest man ever in this distance in history, only behind then-world record holder Ian Thorpe whose time was 3:40.08.
36.
In swimming 1:44.85 in the 200-meter freestyle final, Park Tae-hwan joined Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, and Pieter van den Hoogenband as the only men to have ever swum under 1:45 in the event.
37.
Shortly after the South Korean Federation met with the FINA bureau the ruling was overturned and Park Tae-hwan was reinstated into the race.
38.
Park Tae-hwan won silver in the finals of the 400-meter race.
39.
Park Tae-hwan broke a tie with Ian Thorpe with his victory tonight.
40.
In July 2016, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Park Tae-hwan would be eligible for the Olympics, after the Korean Olympic Committee had intended to ban Park Tae-hwan from representing the national team after his doping ban ended.
41.
In Rio 2016, Park Tae-hwan had a poor meet due to the insufficient training.
42.
Park Tae-hwan withdrew in the men's 1500 m, his final event.
43.
In October 2016, Park Tae-hwan attended South Korean National Sports Festival.
44.
At this domestic sports festival, Park Tae-hwan won two gold medals.
45.
Park Tae-hwan's winning time of 1:45.01 in the 200 m freestyle made him the second fastest man in 2016 worldwide, only behind Sun Yang whose time is 1:44:65.
46.
Park Tae-hwan's times were significantly faster than those at the Olympic two months before.
47.
In 10th Asian Swimming Championships in Japan, Park Tae-hwan won 5 medals, included 4 gold medals in singles and 1 bronze medal in relay.
48.
Park Tae-hwan won three gold medals, all in freestyle events: 200-, 400- and 1500- meter.
49.
Park Tae-hwan did not compete in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.