South Korean swimmer Park narrowly advances to semis

ROME, July 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean Olympic medalist Park Tae-hwan advanced to
the second round of the 200 meter freestyle competition at the World
Championships in Rome on Monday, looking recovered after his stunning ouster from
the 400 meter event on Sunday.
The 20-year-old finished third in his heat with 1:46.25, the 8th fastest record
overall in the first preliminary round of the 200 meter freestyle event. Only the
top 16 players advance to the second round.
His personal best of 1:44.85 was set in the Beijing Olympics last year to grab
silver after U.S. Michael Phelps.
Park is set to swim in the semi-final round a few hours later and is expected to
compete with world-record holder Phelps and 400 meter gold medalist and German
world record setter Paul Biedermann. Park won the bronze medal in the Melbourne
world champion tournament two years ago.
The 400 meter defending champion was ousted in Sunday's competition, ranking 12th
following a lackluster performance.
brk@yna.co.kr
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