"There is no failure in hard work": Yvona's dream of becoming Paris' oldest national champion
"There is no failure in hard work": Yvona's dream of becoming Paris' oldest national champion
Blog Article
"Of course, every athlete's dream is to win gold, and mine is no different"
The Paris Games will be special for clay shooter Lee Bona.
Born in July 1981, she will celebrate her 43rd birthday in Paris, making her the oldest member of the 140-strong South Korean team.
She laughs at the word "old," as if it's not a misnomer, but she's still one of the best shooters in the country, and she's earned the gold medal with pride.
In fact, Lee Bona is a "living legend" who has taken up the mantle of Korean shooting from Jin Jong-oh.
Twenty years ago, in her first Olympic Games, she won the first medal in South Korean clay shooting history, taking silver in double trap and bronze in trap in Athens, Greece.
Those two medals still stand as the 'odd' Olympic medals for Korean shotgun.
It was the first time the sport of 'clay shooting' 바카라 필승법 (shotgun shooting at airborne targets) was actually introduced to the public.
"I hope you're more interested in the sport than I am," said Ivona, who won two medals that no one else was paying attention to at the time, making it all the more surprising.
Two years and two changes later, Ivona's dreams remain unfinished.
While Ivona herself has brought home six medals (gold, silver, bronze, and three bronze) from five Asian Games, the growth of clay shooting in South Korea has been slow.
Currently, the country has eight clay shooting teams, only five of which can compete as a team.
That's why Ivona is revisiting a goal she has harbored for the past 20 years.
"My dream is that through the Paris Olympics, there will be more good shooting teams, more corporate teams that will provide a better environment. The responsibility is bigger than it was 20 years ago."
Ivona's life in shooting has been characterized by the "Olympic spirit.
A failed rifle player who couldn't make the team, he took a chance and became a pioneer of shotgun shooting in South Korea. He won two Olympic medals at a young age, but it would take him 16 years to wear the Olympic colors again.
There are only three Olympic podium spots per sport.
In a sport where there are more failures than successes, Ivona hopes that younger athletes will find the meaning and value that can only be found in failure and reach their own successes.
"If you fail in a competition, it's not a failure. If you don't win a medal, it's not a failure. I want you to be proud of how far you've come and give it everything you've got."