Each Olympic medal is precious

Each medal, especially gold, is precious and coveted by athletes worldwide. Even Novak Djokovic, one of the greatest tennis players, still dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal despite having a record 24 major singles titles.

However, pursuing an Olympic gold medal is not the primary motivation for most people engaging in sports. For example, weekend golfers and young enthusiasts rarely aim for Olympic glory, yet over 8,100 golf practice ranges thrive across the nation. This is because enjoyment and the desire to improve drive participation in sports, rather than the goal of winning medals.

People who find joy in sports become the 'subjects of exercise,' practicing and training voluntarily because they want to get better. There is a reason why a certain manager's right hand wraps around his left thumb whenever he gets a chance. He even buys books, despite rarely reading them. It would be even stranger to be surprised to find a copy of 'The Road to Golf Singles' in a particular director's desk drawer.

Korean athletes who consider themselves ‘elites’ have a different experience. Their training was largely dictated by leaders or others to promote national prestige. Many of these athletes grew up as ‘objects of exercise’ in underdeveloped countries and are now coaching children born in developed countries. They often express frustration, saying, “To boost international competitiveness, we need to increase the amount of training. However, the reality is that even coaches cannot enforce training.”

“Japanese athletes learn the basics and techniques before reaching the adult stage,” a coach of a team sport remarked. “Since we severely lack training from a young age, our performance inevitably suffers.” Such frustrations frequently result in requests such as, “Please excuse the sports club kids from class.”

It is hypocritical to tell an athlete who has worked hard enough to qualify for the Olympics, “Don’t worry about winning a gold medal, just enjoy it.” Similarly, there is no reason why an athlete who wins a gold medal shouldn't enjoy the Olympics more than one who finishes in fourth place. However, regardless of the results, the only people who can genuinely say, “I enjoyed the Olympics” should be the athletes themselves, the main players in the sport. In Korea, the days are long gone when gray-haired seniors would grab the microphone and declare, “Korea’s goal is to win X number of gold medals in this Olympics.”