As reported by both NBC Olympics and Yonhap News, South Korean Olympic swimmer Park Tae-hwan has failed a doping test, according to his agency, Team GMP. The 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist and his agency are blaming the result on “an illegal injection administered by a local doctor…..containing a banned substance unbeknownst to Park.” Two months prior to the Asian Games, Park received chiropractic treatment at a local hospital, receiving the shot that his agency attributes to the positive test.
“At the time, the hospital offered to give Park an injection, and he repeatedly asked if it contained any illegal substances,” Park’s management agency said in a statement, according to Yonhap news. “The doctor said there would be no problem. And yet it turned out the injection contained a banned substance. With our team of legal experts, we’re trying to determine why the particular hospital injected Park with an illegal substance, and we’re preparing to hold it civilly and criminally liable.”
Additionally NBC Olympics and Yonhap news report that his agency contends that Park Tae-hwan has been “extremely careful” about what he takes and is “more shocked than anyone” regarding the results. Park‘s agency reminds the public that the athlete competed at the Asian Games last September and had no trouble passing the several doping tests during that event.
Park is winner of two silver medals at 2012 London (200m and 400m freestyles) and is South Korea’s most decorated athlete in Asian Games history with 20 medals earned. Park has recently been training stateside with the SwimMAC Elite group in Charlotte, North Carolina.
So, who’s next?
And in my eyes, Grant Hackett is three-peat 1,500 olympics champion.
That drug cheat Mellouli should have forfeited his olympics gold.
that one still annoys me too..
in 2008, Gary Hall Jr. said that there was a doping problem in swimming and most of the community scoffed at him. People just shot the messenger. Jessica Hardy, Efimova, Mellouli, Park, Sun Yang, Cielo, Ian Thorpe, Bosquet, are just some of the names of high profile swimmers who have failed tests. I know that some people will blame tainted substances, doctor error, adderall or whatever bogus explanation they come up with. At a certain point, one has got to conclude that this is a scary pattern for the sport. And given how easy it is to circumvent testing, these are only the people who are dumb enough to get caught. How many others are getting away with it? … Read more »
I honestly don’t know why people think swimming is some clean, shiny sport. If your livelihood depended on some pills, injections or whatever…the incentive is just so clear.
Elite swimmers should just declare their use of a medication and have the declaration on record (any substance). If their injury/condition actually requires their treatment with a banned substance then a declaration is a perfect option to take. I assume this happens a lot but we never know because its confidential.
Ian Thorpe never failed doping test. You are slandering.
he tested positive for elevated testosterone levels. he said it was caused by having a few beers and it went away
that’s still misleading…every male tests positive to testosterone…I remember his levels were above average but below the level of a positive doping test under the anti doping rules..there must be this flexibility because the testing isn’t perfect.
This.
And that’s why athletes’ blood passport is urgent and necessary so that an athlete’s normal testosterone level is known.
Satchmo doesn’t know what “tested positive to doping” is.
Everybody in elite sport knows that the athlete is the only one responsible for what they ingest. Having swam in OZ for years where doping is ridgedly policed Park should be aware of this………he is a great athlete . What drug was it??????
Maybe he is innocent of not knowing what it was but iignorance is no difference
Which would explain why Park & Bohl cut coaching ties. St Peters Western is a swimsquad attached to a Lutheran School .
Let’s hope it. Is one of those more explainable substances . However there is no excuse as all medical interventions ( & no one would deny emergency pain relief) should have been communication asap – even after the event .
Exactly….regardless who gave it…the pro athlete is ultimately responsible. Pull out a smart phone and check the WADA site. If you don’t have labels with ingredients. ..refuse the treatment. That simple. “Criminal charges” against someone you blame won’t change anything if you have a banned substance in you. He’s an adult! Take responsibility.
The Yonhap news article linked above states that the injection was administered by a doctor at a hospital. It’s possible the word chiropractor was mistranslated from Korean to English or a chiropractic treatment is administered by a doctor in Korea. Moreover, the word “chiropractor” is nowhere to be found in the Yonhap news article. People are so harsh based on scant information. Even suspected murderers are given due process under the law.
That’s all completely irrelevant. He tested positive for a banned substance. Unless there was some flaw or breach in the testing protocol, he’s guilty of doping. If an athlete can be declared innocent based on the fact that he didn’t know what someone was injecting into him, then there is no point in having rules against doping.
Due process is completely irrelevant? The world is not as black and white as you suggest and mitigating factors do exist.
Correct.. he can also declare his requirement for a specific treatment that may include a banned substance.
You may found however the words “chiropractic treatment”. FREE chiropractic treatment, to be precise. Which makes the news even more disconcerting. But you do have a point, I admit it.
* find
My immediate reaction was disappointment. Not anger. No finger pointing. Just disappointment.
The information below immediately comes to mind for me…wouldn’t an elite athlete be even more acutely aware of his options. I quote this because no other substance makes sense. I’m sure KADA would have the same service.
The use of corticosteroids is restricted or prohibited in competition sports. If taken orally, rectally, intravenously or intramuscularly, their use requires a Therapeutic Use Exemption approval. If inhaled (e.g. for asthma) or used in or around joints and soft tissue or into your spine (local corticosteroid injection) you need a declaration of use from your doctor.
Contact the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) Drugs in Sport Hotline on 1800 020 506 for more information.