‘It Was Weird’: Lydia Ko Reveals the ‘Awkward’ Moment of Being an Olympic Gold Medalist in the Public
“I had the most unbelievable experience in my three times playing the Olympics,” said Lydia Ko after winning her first gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She finished with a 10-under par on the final match day, two strokes ahead of German silver medalist Esther Henseleit. This completes her Olympic medal collection, adding to her bronze from Tokyo 2020 and a silver from the Rio in 2016. Although she is overwhelmed to have gotten the ‘whole collection of the steak knives’, she has mostly kept the gold medal in her backpack ever since winning it. The Kiwi revealed that she has not yet been able to fully treasure the possession so far, and here’s why.
Lydia Ko had to fly to Scotland right after the Olympic win
The LPGA will be joining hands with the Ladies European Tour to host the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open. It is scheduled to take place at the Dundonald Links in Scotland from August 15 to August 18. Since the closing ceremony of the 2024 Olympics was held at Stade de France on August 12, just three days ahead of the commencement of the LPGA event, Lydia Ko had to fly directly to Scotland right after the celebrations.
When asked about how she felt looking at the medal and knowing it was hers now, the Kiwi revealed, “I haven’t looked at it in a couple of days. When I was flying with it, it was weird to kind of take it out because not everybody knew that I am an athlete or an Olympian or that I had won a medal. So it’s kind of awkward at times.”
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She also does not like to brag about it and keeps showing it off in public. Lydia Ko even added that she has not seen her medals from the Rio or Tokyo medals either. When her grandmother passed away during the Tokyo Olympics, she had promised to win the Gold medal and make her family proud. Now that she has made the promise, she even dubbed the moment as an ultimate tribute to her late grandmother.
Her feat of victory at the Olympics was special to her in more ways than one. The win also grabbed her a special spot that she had been vying for months now, and Ko could not be any happier.
Lydia Ko was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame
When Lydia Ko entered the Olympics, she had 26 points on her Hall of Fame list, which is just one point away from what a player needs to be inducted into the list. Her win at the 2024 Paris Olympics grabbed her the point, and she became the 35th player on the LPGA Tour to enter into the HOF.
Not to forget, winning the gold medal was not a win just for her. Rather, she won it for her country, New Zealand, and that’s what makes the win all the more special. “Competing in the @olympics and representing my country has been the biggest honor in my life, and there are no words to express the emotions I felt whilst listening to my national anthem on the podium,” she said.
Despite all the glory Ko has found in the last week, her focus on golf has not shied one bit. Mentally, she is already looking forward to the Women’s Scottish Open as she puts her Olympic elation to hibernation. Will she be able to find consecutive glory?
