2024-08-05 01:49:20
# Four years ago, Tokyo could have been the first Olympics. Expectations were high for a medal, but the Olympics were suddenly pushed back by one year due to the spread of the ‘novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).’ In the national team selection competition that was held again, I gave up my spot to my juniors. I had to wait for the next Olympics after gritted my teeth for three years.
This is the story of Jeon Hoon-young (30), the ‘eldest sister’ of the Korean women’s archery team, who is stepping on the Olympic stage for the first time after turning 30. Jeon Hoon-young, who had not won an international competition since winning two gold medals at the 2014 World University Championships, achieved her dream of ‘participating in the Olympics’ by joining the national team in April of this year.
When I was actually selected for the national team, I was about 10 years older than Im Si-hyeon (born in 2003) and Nam Su-hyeon (born in 2005), who were also selected. It was also their first time participating in the Olympics.
Jeon Hoon-young gave up the privileges she enjoyed as an older sister and took good care of her younger siblings. A typical example was when they arrived in Paris and were deciding on the team’s accommodations. The accommodations were for two people per room, so one of them had to share a room with an athlete from another sport.
In light of the Korean culture of ‘room leader, roommate’, the eldest sister should share a room with the youngest, but he made a different choice. Jeon Hoon-young raised his hand first and said, “I will share a room with a table tennis player.” It was for the sake of his juniors, who were also participating in their first Olympics.
Moreover, unlike his days at Taereung Athletes’ Village, he has not interacted much with athletes from other sports recently. When one of the coaching staff asked, “Is it okay for you to spend more than ten days with athletes from other sports when it’s not even Taereung days?” Jeon Hoon-young is said to have responded coolly, “I’m okay as long as my younger siblings are comfortable.”
Even inside the stadium, Jeon Hoon-young did his part. Because he shoots arrows quickly, he was the first runner in the team event. In the archery team event, 120 seconds are given per set, and the three players must shoot 2 arrows each, a total of 6 arrows, within 120 seconds. If the first runner shoots arrows quickly, the second and third players have that much more time.
In the women’s team final against China on the 28th of last month, she shot 10 points five times. She especially contributed greatly to winning the gold medal by shooting 10 points in the overtime deciding match (shoot-off). It was the moment when Jeon Hoon-young, who had not been on the international stage for 10 years since 2014, won her first gold medal on the senior stage.
In the individual event, Jeon Hoon-young also had a close match (4-6) with gold medalist Im Si-hyeon in the semifinals that went all the way to the final set.
According to the coaching staff, Jeon Hoon-young’s personality is not sensitive, but rather cheerful and easygoing. During team games, he would occasionally throw in some strange jokes to ease the tension of his younger teammates.
On the afternoon of the 3rd, when the individual competition was held, Jeon Hoon-young joked with Im Si-hyeon and walked with her into the Invalides Stadium. Depending on the results of the match, they could face each other in the semifinals, but this was a scene where we could see her side as a national teammate and the oldest sister.
Thanks to Jeon Hoon-young’s performance, the women’s national archery team not only won the team event for the 10th consecutive time, but also won gold medals in all the events in which the women competed, including the mixed and individual events. This achievement was made despite public opinion that “all three national team members are participating in their first Olympics and therefore have relatively little experience in big games.”
Immediately after the competition on the 3rd, President Chung Eui-sun, who is the president of the Korea Archery Association and the president of the Asian Archery Federation, visited Jeon Hoon-young to encourage him. Although he did not win a medal in the individual event, President Chung expressed his gratitude to Jeon Hoon-young for encouraging and leading his juniors throughout the competition.
In a joint press conference (mixed zone) interview with reporters that day, Jeon Hoon-young said, “There were many worries and concerns about the national archery team, but in the end, we won three gold medals in all events,” and “There was a lot of pressure, but we achieved our goal. As a team, I am satisfied with the results.” He added, “I have no regrets because we worked hard without resting while preparing. The biggest feeling is the sense of relief.”Reporter Jeong Jin-su, Donga.com [email protected]
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2024-08-05 01:49:20