Swimmer Park Tae-hwan starts quest to defend Olympic gold

Korean swimming champion Park Tae-hwan is revved up for defending his Olympic title.

Park clinched the gold medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle Friday at the 2012 New South Wales State Open Championships at the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Center in Australia with a time of 3 minutes and 45.57 seconds. Runner-up David McKeon clocked in at 3 minutes and 48.20 seconds and third-place Matthew Stanley 3 minutes and 50.81 seconds.

Park’s latest performance was far behind his personal record of 3 minutes and 41.53 seconds set when he won the 400 meters at the 2010 Guangzhou Asiad, but gained confidence from claiming the first championship of the season. Undergoing a rigorous training program with five months left before the Summer Olympics in London, he had the third-fastest time this year in the men’s 400-meter freestyle to help his goal of defending his Olympic crown.

yjongk@donga.com