Olympian Park Tae-hwan Begs To Race In Rio Summer Olympics 2016

Park Tae-hwan, an Olympic gold medalist in swimming, got on his knees during a conference on May 2, 2016 and pleaded to be allowed to race in the upcoming summer games in Rio de Janeiro. 

Park, 26, had been suspended for 18 months after being caught in a doping violation. Although his suspension ended in March, the Korean Olympic Committee bans national athletes from competing in the Olympics for 3 years after the suspension ends.

Park and his sister spoke before the Sports Arbitration Conference in Seoul asking for "one more chance" to represent South Korea at the Rio Olympics. 

"I hope that I am given a chance so that I can deliver a good performance for the people and contribute to the nation," Park said, according to Reuters. 

Present at the conference were officials from the Court of Arbitration for Sport and International Olympic Committee. Some officials were willing to allow Park participate in the Olympic games in Rio.

Richard Pound, former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, expressed his belief that the Korean Olympic Committee is "is unfairly penalizing [Park] twice for a single doping offense by banning him from this year's Summer Games." 

However, even if the Court of Arbitration for Sport would allow Park to enter the games, the permission needs to come from the Korean Olympic Committee. The KOC regulates that an athlete cannot participate in the Olympics for 3 years even after the suspension term.