[Stage Voices]Young Taegeuk Warriors Overturn Olympic Uncertainty

Five Gold Medals Won Within Three Days of the Opening
Smiling Through Disappointments, Even When Missing Medals

Editor's Note"Jjabalryang" is a pure Korean word that refers to a person or object that has shrunk and become unusable. Whether a person or an object, we live in a world that values usefulness, so while it may not always be helpful, we aim for a warm and heartfelt writing style.

The performance of young athletes in their teens to early twenties at the 2024 Paris Olympics is astonishing. They completely changed the atmosphere of the 2024 Paris Olympics, which had more uncertainty about results than any other competition. Expectations for results were not high ahead of the Paris Olympics. Lee Ki-heung, president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, stated at the team launch ceremony that the goal was to win more than five gold medals. Five was the lowest target since the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where Yang Jeong-mo (71, wrestling), South Korea's first Olympic gold medalist, won one gold medal. However, within three days of the opening, the team secured five gold medals, achieving the goal early.

Shooting gold medalists Oh Ye-jin (19) and Ban Hyo-jin (16) are both teenagers. In particular, Ban Hyo-jin became the youngest gold medalist in history and the winner of South Korea's 100th gold medal at the Summer Olympics. The youngest member of the women's archery team, which has won gold medals in 10 consecutive Olympics, Nam Su-hyun (19), is also a teenager, and the ace Lim Si-hyun is only 21 this year. The youngest member of the men's archery team, Kim Je-deok (20), is just 20 years old this year. Kim Je-deok already won two gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bringing his total to three Olympic gold medals including this one. If he adds another gold medal in the remaining individual events, he will become one of South Korea's all-time top Summer Olympic gold medalists with four gold medals, alongside Kim Soo-nyung (53, archery) and Jin Jong-oh (45, shooting), at a young age.

Archery national representative Kim Je-deok is drawing his bow towards the target during the men's team final match between Korea and France at the 2024 Paris Olympics archery competition held on the 29th (local time) at the Les Invalides Archery Stadium in Paris, France.
Photo by Yonhap News

The number of gold medals, which was 13 at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, decreased to 9 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, 6 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and was expected to drop to 5 this time, leading to concerns about a crisis in elite sports within the sports community. Coincidentally, on the 29th, when Ban Hyo-jin won the 100th gold medal, a forum was held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Seoul, with the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism participating, to hear academic opinions on overcoming the crisis in elite sports.

It is true that elite sports have contributed significantly to South Korea's outstanding Olympic achievements as a small country. The Korea National Sport University, a cradle of Olympic medalists, was established in 1976 by President Park Chung-hee, who recognized the achievements at the Montreal Olympics and thought that elite sports needed to be developed. However, times change, and so should our thinking. There is concern that the crisis in elite sports may be rooted in the perception that promising athletes should be disciplined in the same way as the older generation was trained. Is there also a tendency to treat the younger generation, born in a digital environment and accustomed to individualized lifestyles, as outliers, separating them from the older generation?

The elite sports crisis theory seems somewhat unfounded given the better-than-expected performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. While good results at the Olympics may be a matter of luck, it is a pleasant thing to feel the bright energy of the younger generation. The attitude of the young Taegeuk Warriors in dealing with disappointing situations is also impressive. Hwang Sun-woo (21, swimming), a strong medal contender, said in an interview after failing to advance to the finals in his main event, the 200m, that his swimming career is not over. Heo Mi-mi (22), who aimed for gold in the women's judo 57kg category, lost the gold medal due to a controversial decision in the final but smiled and said that questionable decisions are part of the game and that she will win gold at the next Olympics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.