Park In-bee, the “golf queen” who has been selected as a candidate to represent South Korea on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is set to begin her campaign for the 2024 Paris Olympics, vowed to meet as many athletes as possible to make herself known.
Park In-bee attended the decision ceremony for the Korean team for the Paris Olympics at the Olympic Hall in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 9th and said, “When I competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, I went to the local area immediately after the competition and came to a place like this for the first time. Now that I’m here, I feel like it’s really the beginning of the Olympics and I feel good,” she said.
Park, who has 21 career victories on the LPGA Tour, including seven majors, and won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics to complete a “Golden Career Slam,” was selected as an IOC candidate last August through a selection process by the Korean Sports Federation.
After passing the IOC’s screening process for candidates from all over the world, Park will leave Korea on Aug. 16 and begin her campaign for the IOC Athletes’ Commission on Aug. 18, when the Olympic Village officially opens in Paris.
Candidates will be able to travel around the athletes’ village to campaign directly with athletes and promote themselves on social media.
Park In-bee, who is slowly preparing for her departure, said, “This time I’m not competing as an athlete, so I don’t feel any pressure, but it’s different because I’m doing something I’m used to doing in Rio and something I haven’t done before.” “But it’s definitely easier,” she said.
When asked about his campaign strategy, he said, “I received advice on this, and since there are athletes from many countries, I think it would be good to learn at least one greeting from each country so that I can approach them in a friendly way. They said that ‘eye contact’ is also important.” He smiled and said, “I don’t know how much time I will have, but I will try to meet as many people as possible, make my face known, and even do ‘bonjour’.”
The Athletes’ Commissioners are elected by athletes from around the world and serve an eight-year term. As Olympians, they represent the voice of athletes at the IOC, and if elected, they receive the same treatment as regular IOC members.
“I think it will be important to strengthen the rights of athletes as much as their responsibilities. As I am a ‘working mom’, I think it is important for such athletes to participate, and in the case of golf, I would like to add team events and mixed events so that many people can see the sport in a variety of ways.”
During the final ceremony, Park sent a video message of support to the junior golfers as they were introduced to the entire team.
In the video, she said, “There’s one thing I realized when I competed in the Olympics, and that’s that you have to believe in yourself. Believe in yourself, believe in your team, believe in your team, and do your best,” he said, adding, “I wish all the athletes injury-free and the best of luck.”
As for the golfers, “For some of them it will be their second Olympics, so there will be less pressure than the first time and it will be a springboard to do much better. It’s going to be hot and tough, but hopefully we can play well and show what we’ve prepared for.”
When asked about her plans to play on the LPGA Tour after August 2022, she said, “I’m not going to play this year,” and added, “I’ll probably make an announcement at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.”