South Korean ex-Olympic swimming champ receives 18-month ban after failed drugs test

Former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan has been slammed with an 18-month ban after a failed drugs test.

Park, who is a two-time world champion and the first Korean to win an Olympic swimming medal, tested positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition test conducted by swimming's governing body FINA last September, the BBC reported.

The South Korean, who won the 400-metre freestyle gold at Beijing 2008, would be able to return in time for the Rio Olympics next year, the report added.