SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's Olympic committee lifted its ban on Park Tae-hwan on Friday, allowing the former Olympic swimming champion to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Games.
The decision came after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a request for provisional measures filed by Park and determined him as eligible for the Rio Games.
Park appealed to sport's top court after the Korean Olympic Committee left him off the national team because he was caught doping. Park had sought an urgent ruling by Friday, the cut-off date for South Korea to submit its finalized lineup of swimmers for the Rio Games.
In response to the CAS ruling, the KOC said in a statement that it will take steps to change its regulations that prohibited athletes from international competition for three years after the end of their doping suspensions.
Park, the only South Korean to ever win an Olympic medal in swimming, came off an 18-month ban in March after testing positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition doping test.
He became a national hero after winning the 400-meter freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also won silver in Beijing, and added two more silvers at the 2012 London Games.
