SOUTH KOREAN swim star Park Tae-hwan is seeking “an urgent ruling” by July 8 on his appeal against his Rio Olympics ban over doping, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said Wednesday.

    The multiple Olympic medalist completed an 18-month suspension in April after testing positive for an anabolic steroid in out-of-competition controls before the 2014 Asian Games.

    But he remains barred from competing in Rio, where the Games begin Aug. 5, under a national rule that prohibits athletes from representing South Korea for three years after the expiration of any doping ban.

    Park’s legal team said earlier this month that they would challenge that rule at the Lausanne-based CAS.

    July 8 is the cut-off date for selection to South Korea’s Rio-bound swimming team.

    Park is seeking a judgment “that would potentially allow him to compete” in Brazil, CAS said.

    Park has repeatedly begged for a chance to compete in what would be his third, and probably last, Olympics — at one point getting down on his hands and knees during a press conference.

    The 26-year-old was once the poster boy of South Korean swimming — courted by advertisers and idolized by fans — before his positive test was revealed in January last year.(SD-Agencies)