Olympic gold medalist swimmer Park Tae-hwan has declared he will compete at the World Championships slated to take place in Hungary in July.

The 27-year-old South Korean swimmer made his bid known during a press conference on Monday in Incheon.

[Sound bite: Swimmer Park Tae-hwan (Korean)]
“I have always dreamed of becoming a world record holder. Of course, it is a difficult goal to achieve. I know it will not be easy. But, I want to try and break my own records and eventually world records."
“I don’t know when I will quit swimming, but no matter when it will be,  hope I'll shine more than when I won gold at the Beijing Olympics.”

Park said he will focus on the 200-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle during the upcoming world championships.

Park, who won a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle at the Beijing Olympics, is the only South Korean who stood atop the podium at the world aquatics championships. He won a gold and a bronze in 2007 and another gold in 2011.

Park had his national team membership suspended for one-and-a-half years after he tested positive in a doping test in September 2014.

After the doping ban ended, he competed at the Rio Olympics last year but failed to make it to the finals of any heats.   

However, he has made a dramatic comeback in recent months, winning four gold medals at the Asian Championships in Tokyo in November. He also won three golds at the World Short Course Championships in Canada in December. 

The 17th FINA World Championships will be held in Budapest from July 14th to July 30th.