Games-Swimming-Hometown hero Park unable to meet expectations

By Julian Linden INCHEON, South Korea, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Few athletes at the Asian Games are under more pressure to win than Park Tae-hwan. As South Korea's most celebrated and successful swimmer, the expectations on him to capture gold at home are overbearing. The local organisers even named the Aquatics Centre, where the swimming events are taking place, after him. When he lost his first race on Sunday, an entire nation groaned in disappointment but a weight was lifted off Park's shoulders. The 24-year-old knew the expectations on him were almost impossible to match. He had won three gold medals at each of the past two Asian Games and knew in his heart that a three-peat in Incheon was unlikely. "It is an Asian Games taking place in my country and it is in a stadium named after me," he told reporters after finishing third behind Japan's Kosuke Hagino and Sun Yang of China in the 200 metres freestyle final. "So it was a burden on my shoulder. "Now that it is over I can say this, I couldn't help hear people expecting me to win another gold three times in a row in 200m in the Asian Games again." Park still has a few chances left to win in Incheon, with the 400m, his best event, still to come, although he faces another showdown with Hagino and Sun. Park won the gold medal in the 400m at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and two world championships. He became superstar in his homeland, where he is known affectionately as 'Marine Boy'. But the signs are not good. The 200m was also one of his best events. He had won gold at the last two Asian Games and silver at the last two Olympics. He made a flying start off the blocks, leading after the first length but dropped back to second at the halfway mark. He was still second when the field turned for home but was starting to fatigue and dropped back to third, settling for the bronze medal. "I wanted to overcome that burden but my body didn't allow me to," he said. "My coach kept saying I can do it if I just do what I have been practising so far but I couldn't keep that promise and I feel bad about that." (Additional reporting by Narae Kim; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)