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Park Tae-hwan

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Template:Distinguish2 Template:Korean name

Park Tae-hwan
Personal information
Full namePark Tae-hwan
NicknameMarine Boy[1]
NationalitySouth Korea South Korean
Born (1989-09-27) September 27, 1989 (age 35)
South Korea Seoul, South Korea
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Weight163 lb (74 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
Strokesfreestyle
College teamDankook University
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  South Korea
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing 200 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2007 Melbourne 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2011 Shanghai 400 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Melbourne 200 m freestyle
World Championships (SC)
Silver medal – second place 2006 Shanghai[3] 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2006 Shanghai 1500m Freestyle
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou 100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2010 Guangzhou 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2006 Doha 1500 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2010 Guangzhou 1500 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2006 Doha 100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou 4x200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha 4x100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha 4x200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Doha 4x100 m medley
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Victoria 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2006 Victoria 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2010 Irvine 400 freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2006 Victoria 200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2010 Irvine 200 freestyle
Korean name
Hangul
박태환
Hanja
朴泰桓
Revised RomanizationBak Tae-hwahn
McCune–ReischauerPak T'ae-hwahn

Park Tae-hwan (born September 27, 1989) is a South Korean swimmer. He is a member of the South Korean national swimming team, based in Taereung, Seoul. He won a gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle and a silver in the 200 meter freestyle events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He is the first Asian swimmer to win a gold medal in Men's 400 metre freestyle event, and the first Korean to win a medal in swimming.

Personal life

Born in Seoul in 1989, Park graduated from Dankook University in February 2012 [4], where he majored in physical education. His father is a saxophone player and his mother is a dancer. He currently serves as a goodwill ambassador for 'Dynamic Korea', South Korea's international image-making campaign, alongside international figure skater Kim Yu-Na.[5] Park Tae-hwan is one of Asia's top Men's Freestyle swimmers. He was voted Most Valuable Player at the 2006 Asian Games in Qatar where he won seven medals including three gold. The 22-year-old trains in Melbourne and is also a Pan Pacific Champion. He was voted Swimming World's Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year in 2006.

Career

Park began swimming at the age of 5 when his doctor suggested it would be good for his asthma. He began his competitive swimming career at the age of 7, earning several medals in junior competitions.[6] This early success led to Park's selection to the Korean Swimming Federation as a national team member in 2003. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, however, Park was disqualified for a false start in the preliminary heat of the men's 400m freestyle competition.[7] However, shortly thereafter at the 2004 Fina Swimming World Cup, Park was the runner-up in the men's 400 meter freestyle event. At 2011's Santa Clara Grand Prix, Park beat Michael Phelps in the 100 meter freestyle, winning by more than half a second.


2006 Asian Games

See also: Swimming at the 2006 Asian Games
Event Results Time
Men's 200m Freestyle Gold Medal 1:47.12 (AS)
Men's 400m Freestyle Gold Medal 3:48.44
Men's 1500m Freestyle Gold Medal 14:55.03 (AS)
Men's 100m Freestyle Silver Medal 50.02
Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay Bronze Medal 3:22.16
Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Bronze Medal 7:23.61
Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Bronze Medal 3:41.33

Park 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. He also set two Asian Records. For his success, Park was named an Athlete of the Games.[8]

At the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, Canada, Park won two gold medals (in the 1500 meter freestyle and the 400 meter freestyle) and one silver medal (200 m freestyle).

Park was named the 2006 Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine, beating out Olympic medalist (and 2005 awardee) Australian Grant Hackett for the honor.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Park won a gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle event and a silver medal in the 200 meter freestyle event. In swimming 1:44.85 in the 200m freestyle final, Park joined Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, and Pieter van den Hoogenband as the only men to have ever swum under 1:45 in the event.

Much of the press coverage surrounding Park's successes emphasize the fact that these are the first Olympic medals in swimming for South Korea.

2006 Pan Pacific Championships

See also: 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships
Event Results Time
Men's 200m Freestyle Silver Medal 1:47.51
Men's 400m Freestyle Gold Medal 3:45.72
Men's 1500m Freestyle Gold Medal 15:06.11

At the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Victoria, Canada, Park won two gold medals (in the 1500 meter freestyle and the 400 meter freestyle) and one silver medal (200 m freestyle).


2007 World Championships

See also: Swimming at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships
Event Results Time
400 m freestyle Gold Medal 3:44:30 (AS)
200 m freestyle Bronze Medal 1:46:73 (AS)

Beijing Bid

Just after a stunning victory against idol Grant Hackett in the men's 400m freestyle at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, Park decided to train alone in Sydney, Australia as his own '500-day project', parting with his personal managing team in December 2007. He then joined the Korean national team training base in February 2008 to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Under Park's personal coach Roh Min-sang and other members of the coaching staff, the national team trained in Malaysia (February 2008) and Guam (May 2008) to prepare Park for his second attempt at the Olympics. He qualified for competition in the men's 200 meter, 400 meter and 1500 meter freestyle events.[9]


2008 Summer Olympics

See also: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics
Olympic medal record
2008 Beijing – Men's swimming
Representing  South Korea
Gold medal – first place 400 m freestyle 3:41.86 (AS)
Silver medal – second place 200 m freestyle 1:44.85 (AS)

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Park won a gold medal in the 400 meter freestyle event and a silver medal in the 200 meter freestyle event. In swimming 1:44.85 in the 200m freestyle final, Park joined Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, and Pieter van den Hoogenband as the only men to have ever swum under 1:45 in the event.


2009 World Championships

See also: Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships
Date (in Rome) Event Results Time
July 26 400 m freestyle 12th place 3:46.04
July 28 200 m freestyle 13th place 1:46.68
August 1 1500 m freestyle 9th place 15:00.87

At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Park surprised many after failing to qualify to swim in the finals of the 200 and 400 m freestyle.[10] Some blame Park's poor performance on his decision to wear Speedo's LZR Racer in the championships.[11][12]


2010 Asian Games

See also: Swimming at the 2010 Asian Games
Event Results
Men's 100m Freestyle Gold Medal
Men's 200m Freestyle Gold Medal (AS)
Men's 400m Freestyle Gold Medal
Men's 1500m Freestyle Silver Medal
Men's 4x100m Freestyle Relay Bronze Medal
Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Bronze Medal
Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Bronze Medal

2011 World Championships

See also: Swimming at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships
Event Results
400 m freestyle Gold Medal

Personal bests

References

  1. ^ Marine Boy, will become the first Gold medalist?Template:Ko icon, Korean Sports Council, Retrieved on August 4, 2008
  2. ^ "Park Tae-hwan Biography and Olympic Results". http://www.sports-reference.com: Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 27 February 2010. {{cite web}}: External link in |location= (help)
  3. ^ "Shanghai 2006 results". Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  4. ^ Olympic swim champ Park eyes academic future, Yahoo! UK, Retrieved on February 13, 2012
  5. ^ Swimmer Park Tae-hwan as Dynamic Korea, Korea.net, Retrieved on November 24, 2007
  6. ^ Dynamic Koreans of the year: Kim Yoon-A, Park Tae-hwan, Korea.net, Retrieved on December 10, 2007
  7. ^ Athletes; Taehwan Park, yahoo.com, Retrieved on August 15, 2004
  8. ^ Doha 2006 - Athletes of the Games
  9. ^ Park Tae-hwan, jumping from Asia to the WorldTemplate:Ko icon, KBS Special-Beijing Olympics coverage, KBS, Retrieved on August 3, 2008
  10. ^ Park Tae-hwan Is Too Young to Give Up, Retrieved on July 30, 2009
  11. ^ Park Tae-hwan Trounced in 200-m Freestyle, Retrieved on July 30, 2009
  12. ^ Park Tae-Hwan exits in world championship heats, Retrieved on July 30, 2009
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Awards
Preceded by World Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year
2006 		Succeeded by

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