Inbi Park of Golf, who broke the initial expectations, was unanimously nominated as the final candidate.
Challenging the Athletes Committee with fluent English and the uniqueness of golf
Park In-bee was selected as a candidate for the IOC Athletes’ Commission. ⓒ Newsis
Park In-bi of golf has been selected as a candidate for the IOC Athletes Commission, who can serve as a sports diplomat for a total of 8 years.
The Korea Sports Council held the second Korea Sports Council elders meeting on the 14th and decided to recommend Park In-bi as a domestic candidate for the IOC Athletes Commission.
The competition was fierce. Golf’s Inbi Park, volleyball’s Kim Yeon-kyung, shooting’s Jin Jong-oh, taekwondo’s Lee Dae-hoon, and badminton’s Kim So-young challenged, and considering public perception, it was predicted that Kim Yeon-kyung and Jin Jong-oh would compete in the final match.
However, when the lid was opened, the final winner was Inbi Park. In particular, Park In-bi was behind Jin Jong-oh (four Olympic gold medals) only in international competition results, but received the highest score in most of the other items, drawing a unanimous vote.
It’s not over yet. Now, Park In-bee can finally become a member of the Athletes Commission after receiving support from participating athletes at the Paris Olympics to be held next year. A total of four members are elected this time.
The fact that Inbi Park was elected as the Korean candidate is very symbolic in many ways.
First of all, the opportunity to become the first Korean female IOC Athletes Commissioner was put in front. So far, Taekwondo Moon Dae-seong was elected for the first time in Korea at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, eight years after his term ended, table tennis player Seung-Min Yoo (currently the president of the Korea Table Tennis Association) was selected and has maintained his position until now.
In 2016, when Yoo Seung-min was elected, weightlifting Jang Mi-ran (currently Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism) presented a challenge together, but it did not lead to the final nomination.
Park In-bi won the gold medal in golf, which was revived as an Olympic event after 112 years. ⓒ XINHUA=Newsis
It should also be noted that Inbi Park’s sport is golf. While golf is not easily accessible not only in Korea but also around the world, it is a representative sport with a very large influence.
Golf was revived as an Olympic sport after 112 years in Rio in 2016. This means that golf will come closer to the public. Above all, since the IOC Athletes Commission was introduced in 1981, there has been no opportunity for golf players to be elected. Therefore, if Park In-bee is elected, another big stroke can be made in the history of golf.
Inbi Park is a prepared Athlete Commissioner. At the time of this interview, he captivated the interviewers with his much better command of English than his competitors and had a good knowledge of the Olympics in general, especially the role of the IOC Athletes Commissioner.
Before the interview, Inbi Park said, “Commissioner Yoo Seung-min said he walked 450 km during the election. I will aim to walk 500 km,” he said boldly. Attention is focusing on whether Park In-bi, who is showing more determination than anyone else, will be able to walk the path of Korea’s representative sports diplomat following Moon Dae-sung and Yoo Seung-min.
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2023-08-18 23:41:56
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