Three South Korean athletes who came up short of winning gold medals at the London Olympics said Thursday they will be driven by memories of their close calls this summer.
Swimmer Park Tae-hwan, fencer Shin A-lam and badminton player Lee Yong-dae gathered in Seoul after being named the country’s top three Olympians in a local online poll of 15,000 people.
None of the three won gold in London. Park won silver medals in 200 m and 400 m freestyle races, Shin was part of the silver medal-winning epee squad and Lee teamed up with Chung Jae-sung for bronze in men’s doubles badminton.
Korean Olympians (from left) Park Tae-hwan, Shin A-lam and Lee Yong-dae (Yonhap News)
They said they will be further fueled by coming home this year without the most coveted prizes of the Olympics.
“In a competition as big as the Olympics, I tend to take away more unpleasant memories than pleasant ones,” Lee said. “I remember the moment we lost in the semifinals, when the shuttlecock dropped in for the winning point (for the opponents). I will always keep that in mind as I train.”
Lee won the mixed-doubles gold four years ago, and he and Chung entered the London Games as the No. 1-ranked men’s doubles team.
They instead settled for bronze, South Korea’s lone badminton medal, in their final Olympics together.
Shin’s epee fencing team lost to China in the gold medal bout. Shin, who’d earlier made headlines with her controversial defeat in the individual event, said she had regrets over the team event.
“If I had been calmer and not gotten too greedy, we would have had a better finish,” she said. “I will try to use that as motivation.”
Park and Shin found themselves in the center of controversial officiating in London. Park was initially disqualified from that race in London for a false start, but the ruling was overturned hours later. He would finish second behind Sun Yang of China. Park then shared the silver with Sun in 200 m free.
He said he “panicked” when he first found out he was disqualified from the competition. He refuted rumors that he’d cried in the locker room after the announcement, but admitted he found it difficult to stay focused. (Yonhap News)
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