A dozen years after he last won an Olympic medal, Park Tae-hwan remains the only South Korean swimmer who has reached the podium at the quadrennial competition. Park, in France to do television commentary work for the Paris Olympics, said Friday he expects to have some company -- perhaps as soon as Saturday. That's when Kim Woo-min will compete in the men's 400-meter freestyle, with the heats in the morning, followed by the final in the afternoon. Kim is the current world champion in the event. Park made history at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by winning the 400m freestyle gold, becoming the first South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal. He added a silver medal in the 200m freestyle in Beijing, and then won silver medals in both the 200m and 400m freestyle races at the 2012 London Olympics. The former athlete said he was "proud" to see a world class South Korean swimmer in his old main event. "Kim Woo-min has done an excellent job so far, and if he can keep this up, he should be able to stand where he wants to during the medal ceremony," Park told reporters at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris. "By the time the 400m freestyle final is over tomorrow, I won't be the only South Korean swimmer with an Olympic medal." Park still has the national record in the 400m at 3:41.53, set at the 2010 Asian Games, and Kim's personal best is 3:42.42 from an Olympic tuneup event in June. Park predicted his record will be broken this weekend. "Kim Woo-min will break my record here," Park said. "If he gets into the 3:40 range, he will have a pretty good chance of winning a medal. I hope he does well but above all, I hope he doesn't have any regrets in the end." On Hwang, the reigning world champion and the Asian Games gold medalist in the 200m freestyle, Park said the 21-year-old will have a shot at a medal despite strong competition. "I felt he had a chance to win a medal in Tokyo three years ago but he came up short. He could be feeling some pressure at this meet, but he is plenty good enough to conten d," Park said. "I hope he can build on his experience of winning medals at the world championships and the Asian Games, and shake off his disappointment from Tokyo." Kim and Hwang will be teaming up in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay next week, with South Korea eyeing its first relay medal. "It's great that we have individual medal contenders, and it's an even bigger surprise we have a relay team regarded as a medal threat," Park said. "To see this day in Korean swimming ... I am overwhelmed. It goes to show you how far we've come. Hopefully, we can join the ranks of the United States, Australia and China as a swimming powerhouse." Source: Yonhap News Agency

A dozen years after he last won an Olympic medal, Park Tae-hwan remains the only South Korean swimmer who has reached the podium at the quadrennial competition. Park, in France to do television commentary work for the Paris Olympics, said Friday he expects to have some company -- perhaps as soon as Saturday. That's when Kim Woo-min will compete in the men's 400-meter freestyle, with the heats in the morning, followed by the final in the afternoon. Kim is the current world champion in the event. Park made history at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by winning the 400m freestyle gold, becoming the first South Korean swimmer to win an Olympic medal. He added a silver medal in the 200m freestyle in Beijing, and then won silver medals in both the 200m and 400m freestyle races at the 2012 London Olympics. The former athlete said he was "proud" to see a world class South Korean swimmer in his old main event. "Kim Woo-min has done an excellent job so far, and if he can keep this up, he should be able to stand where he wants to during the medal ceremony," Park told reporters at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris. "By the time the 400m freestyle final is over tomorrow, I won't be the only South Korean swimmer with an Olympic medal." Park still has the national record in the 400m at 3:41.53, set at the 2010 Asian Games, and Kim's personal best is 3:42.42 from an Olympic tuneup event in June. Park predicted his record will be broken this weekend. "Kim Woo-min will break my record here," Park said. "If he gets into the 3:40 range, he will have a pretty good chance of winning a medal. I hope he does well but above all, I hope he doesn't have any regrets in the end." On Hwang, the reigning world champion and the Asian Games gold medalist in the 200m freestyle, Park said the 21-year-old will have a shot at a medal despite strong competition. "I felt he had a chance to win a medal in Tokyo three years ago but he came up short. He could be feeling some pressure at this meet, but he is plenty good enough to conten d," Park said. "I hope he can build on his experience of winning medals at the world championships and the Asian Games, and shake off his disappointment from Tokyo." Kim and Hwang will be teaming up in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay next week, with South Korea eyeing its first relay medal. "It's great that we have individual medal contenders, and it's an even bigger surprise we have a relay team regarded as a medal threat," Park said. "To see this day in Korean swimming ... I am overwhelmed. It goes to show you how far we've come. Hopefully, we can join the ranks of the United States, Australia and China as a swimming powerhouse." Source: Yonhap News Agency