Former Peruvian volleyball player visits Korea in 36 years

International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Cecilia Tait (age 62, Peru), formerly known as the world’s best striker in women's volleyball in the 1980s, returned to Korea 36 years after the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Tait arrived in Korea last week to attend the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics and visited the Hanyang University Olympic Gymnasium in Seoul, a place filled with memories from her youth, before departing Korea.

The women's volleyball final between Peru and the Soviet Union in the 1988 Seoul Olympics is considered one of the most famous matches in Olympic volleyball history. Peru won the first and second sets, while the Soviet Union won the third and fourth sets. The Soviet Union won 17-15 after a close game in which the score tied four times in the final five sets. The Korean crowd cheered for Peru, as the head coach of the Peruvian national team at the time was Park Man-bok (1936-2019). Coach Park, who was appointed as coach of the Peruvian national team in 1974, led the Peruvian national team to four Olympics, including the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He was also inducted into the World Volleyball Hall of Fame as the ‘Hero of Peruvian Volleyball.’

“For me, a poor and fatherless girl, Coach Park was like a father,” she said. "Coach Park taught me volleyball and everything about life."

After retirement, Tait served as a member of the Peruvian National Assembly and dedicated efforts to promote women's and youth sports. Later, she entered politics and was elected as a new member at the 141st IOC General Assembly held in Mumbai, India last year. “The happiest moment for me after becoming an IOC member was the Youth Olympic Games being held in my father’s country,” she said. “I will do my best to support all athletes around the world, just as my father did for me.”


Heon-Jae Lee uni@donga.com