Park wins 400m freestyle in Shanghai World
Championships
South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan successfully retained his 400-meter freestyle crown
following a fine swim at the World Championships in Shanghai on Sunday.
The 22-year-old clocked 3 minutes 42.04 seconds to win the gold medal of the
event, beating Chinese rivals Sun Yang who finished second in 3:43:24.
His time was 2.03 seconds behind the world
record of 3:40:07 set by Germany¡¯s Paul Biedermann
at the 2009 World Championships. The German swimmer finished third for the
bronze medal with a 3:44:14 record.
Park had a sluggish start on Sunday. He finished third in his heat and seventh
overall with a 3:46:74 record, which was far behind of his personal record of
3:41:03.
However, swimming in the first lane in the final with the Chinese rival in
fourth and German¡¯s Biedermann in third, Park
started brilliantly and build up to a strong finish to touch the pad first to
retain his 400 m title.
At the previous championships in Rome, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist failed to
make it into the finals in any race. But this year, having teamed up with
Australian coach Michael Bohl, and finishing strong
at the 2010 Asian Games, Park was determined to make up for his disappointing
2009 season.
Last month, he notched up three gold medals at the Santa Clara Grand Prix. In
the 100-meter freestyle race, Park defeated American swim great Michael Phelps
for the first time to claim the gold medal. He also won the 400 m freestyle and
200 m freestyle at the event, raising expectations ahead of the Shanghai
competition.
The freestyle specialist is now looking to add medals in 100 m and 200 m races
in Shanghai.
In the men¡¯s 200 m freestyle final, which is scheduled on Tuesday, Park
is expected to compete against American swimming great Michael Phelps. Former
Olympic champion Ian Thorpe, who retired in 2006, is set to end his four-year
hiatus and to return for the 200 m race. The 100m heat is set for Wednesday and
its final is on Thursday.
Source: The Korea Herald