BEIJING-- South Korean swimming prodigy Park Taehwan realized his dream to win the men's 400m freestyle gold medal at the Olympics here on Sunday.
Park clocked in 3:41.86 to top the podium and China's Zhang Lin got the silver in 3:42.44, China's first medal in this event. American Larsen Jensen finished third in 3:42.78.
Park, wearing a white cap, wore a headphone before starting his race, seeming to be totally focused on what he was about to achieve. The 19-year-old swam close to Australia's Grant Hackett in the first two laps and began taking over Hackett at 150 meters. He maintained the lead and coasted to win his first Olympic gold.
Hackett slipped to the sixth at 3:43.84.