Controversial swimmer Park Tae-hwan might be warming up with the Australian team in Brisbane but the 2008 Olympic champion is a step closer to competing for South Korea in Rio despite being slapped with a ban.
Park is contesting the Brisbane grand prix with the Dolphins this weekend and might line up against them again in Rio after enjoying a significant win in his battle to race at the Olympics.
The Seoul eastern district court has ruled he is eligible to compete in Rio, a verdict expected to bolster Park's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after he had requested an urgent ruling by July 8.
South Korea will confirm their Olympic swimming team on July 18.
The 2008 Beijing 400m freestyle champion served an 18-month ban imposed by world body FINA after testing positive in October 2014 for testosterone.
His suspension ended in March.
But Park was left out of the Rio team despite impressing at the trials, due to a Korea Olympic Committee (KOC) rule that forbids athletes competing for any national team for three years after a doping suspension.
He appealed against the KOC's stance to CAS and hoped to learn his Rio fate next week.
Park relocated to Australia in June as he sweated on his Olympic fate, opting to contest the two-day Brisbane Grand Prix - his first event since his initial ban ended - that ends on Saturday night.
Park will be confident of CAS success after the Seoul court verdict.
The court ruled the KOC was unfairly punishing Park twice for the same offence.
A KOC spokesperson told South Korea's Yonhap news agency it would respect the court's ruling and would wait on CAS's decision.
Park clocked one minute, 49.30 seconds to be fastest qualifier ahead of Saturday night's 200m freestyle final at the Brisbane GP, ahead of top-ranked Aussie Cameron McEvoy (1:49.30).
Park - the first Korean to claim Olympic swimming gold - also finished third on Friday night in the 400m freestyle.
