Olympic champion Park misses 400m freestyle final in old suit

ROME: Olympic gold medalist Park Tae-hwan stuck with his old swimsuit and paid the consequences. The South Korean didn't even qualify for the final of the 400m freestyle in the opening swimming session at the World Championships yesterday.

Park, who was also the defending world champion, touched in 3 minutes, 46.04 seconds - more than three seconds behind leader Paul Biedermann of Germany, who finished 18th at last year's Beijing Games. Biedermann won the gold on the event yesterday with a new world record time.

Park signed a big contract with Speedo before the Olympics and he still wears the pant legs from last year's LZR suit. Many of the athletes in front of him opted for the new polyurethane suits from Jaked and Arena, considered the fastest on the market now.