Park Tae-hwan bites his gold medal in front of reporters after the awards ceremony at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing on Sunday morning. /Newsis

The night before the competition, he says he couldn't sleep. The 19-year old was under heavy pressure because Koreans so ardently wanted him to win the first Olympic swimming gold for the country. Four years ago he was the youngest Korean participant in the 2004 Olympics. But he was disqualified for a false start in the 400 m freestyle. That false start has been branded in people's memory. He was so upset after his disqualification he hid in his room for a month.

Once he came out, he won the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:48:71 in the East Asian Games in Macao in 2005, breaking the Korean record. And then it was one championship after another, breaking Asian records in various competitions. He won the 400 m freestyle with a time of 3:44:30 at the World Championships in Melbourne in March 2007.

It has been a stellar rise for the asthma-stricken boy who started in the sport at the age of five at the recommendation of a doctor who believed it could improve his condition.

There have been upheavals along the way. When his father’s business failed, he suffered many privations, and when he was in fifth grade, he watched his mother suffer and recover from breast cancer.

He won four medals at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. But in January 2007, he parted ways with his coach, Roh Min-sang, who had taught him since elementary school. The new coach was Park Suk-ki, but the two parted ways again in 11 months. He went to Australia for training alone.

There were other sensational stories. Rumor had it that he was dating Sunye, a member of the famous pop dance group "Wonder Girls," after they met on a TV program and were madly in love with each other.

His morale and discipline suffered for about five months, before he decided to reenter the Korea National Training Center in February. He also asked his former coach Roh to train him again and was able to build his body and mind once again.

Now the "boy wonder" has rewritten the history of Korean swimming again. Yet in many ways he is just like any other 19-year old. He is fascinated with the pop group "Bing Bang." He prefers spaghetti to rice, and his favorite food is steak. On Sunday morning, he had his stamina boosted by beef soup cooked by his coach.

As soon as he earned his driver's license last autumn, he bought a Vera Cruz SUV and enjoys driving. He visits his favorite hair salon at least once a month for a dye and perm: Park Jung-ryool, the owner of "She Jak," has taken care of his hair for about three years. "He seems to pay as much attention to his hairstyle as other young men. He often has hair and scalp treatment because he has curly hair and his hair is often damaged by the water in the swimming pool."

After the awards ceremony on Sunday, Park entered the press conference room with a mischievous look on his face. "Can't I go home now?" he asked.

(englishnews@chosun.com )