SKorean Olympic body clears Park for Rio

South Korea's Olympic committee has lifted its ban on Park Tae-hwan, allowing the 2008 Olympic swimming champion to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Games.

The decision came after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a request for provisional measures, filed by Park, and determined him as eligible for Rio.

Park appealed to sport's top court after the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) 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 finalised line-up of swimmers for Brazil.

In response to the CAS ruling, the KOC said in a statement that it would 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 win an Olympic medal in swimming, came off an 18-month ban in March after testing positive for testosterone.

He became a national hero after winning the 400-metres freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also won silver in Beijing, and added two more silvers at the 2012 London Games.