South Korea’s Park Tae-hwan, who clinched the Men’s 400m freestyle title at the Beijing Olympics, failed a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) test recently.
However, the former World Champion claims that his failure was due to an injection that was given to him when he was receiving chiropractic treatment, two months before the Asian Games that was held last September.
“At the time, the hospital offered to give Park an injection and he repeatedly asked if it contained any illegal substances,” Yonhap quoted a statement from Team GMP, Park’s management agency.
His agency added that although Park had repeatedly questioned the content of the injection, the doctor assured that it was safe and frustratingly for Park, it turned out to be otherwise.
They went on to claim that the 25 year-old is usually very careful and meticulous of his intakes and that the results have shocked him more than anyone else. They also threatened the hospital with possible legal action should they be found guilty as this could potentially end Park’s swimming career.
“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,” the management agency said.
Photo credits : www.koreaherald.com
Other posts by Ruth Ho
