South Korea's national Olympic committee on Thursday upheld its ban on disgraced swimmer Park Tae - hwan competing at the Rio Olympics, rejecting his emotional plea for reinstatement.

Park, a multiple Olympic medalist, completed an 18-month drug suspension in April after testing positive for an anabolic steroid in out-of-competition controls before the 2014 Asian Games.

But he remains barred from competing in Rio de Janeiro under a ruling by the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) that prohibits athletes from representing the country for three years after the expiration of any doping ban.