“I’m ready to enjoy the festival of the world,” Kim Soo-ji (26-Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall) said with a smile in her first interview after arriving in Paris, France.
Kim, who is competing in her third Olympics, plans to enjoy the festivities and leave the results to the heavens.
“I’ve been preparing hard for the Paris 2024 Olympics,” Kim told Yonhap News Agency on Saturday (Feb. 26) at Paris De Gaulle Airport, “except for getting used to the local springboard. I will have fun preparing and performing,” she said.
In 2012, as a third-grader at Cheonsan Middle School, Kim became the youngest member of the South Korean team to compete at the London Olympics, finishing last out of 26 in the women’s 10-meter platform preliminaries.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021, she became the first South Korean female diver to qualify for the Olympics on the 3-meter springboard, finishing 15th in the semifinals.
At the Paris Games, she competed in the 3-meter springboard as a “medal favorite.
Kim won bronze in the women’s 3-meter springboard at the Doha 2024 World Championships in February this year.
Kim became the first South Korean diving medalist at a World Aquatics Championships when she finished third in the 1-meter springboard at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
Kim also won bronze in the mixed 3-meter springboard at the Doha World Championships, teaming up with Lee Jae-kyung (Incheon Metropolitan Sports Federation).
Kim won two medals at the Doha World Championships despite not being able to train enough after suffering a torn cartilage in her left knee last November.
After setting a string of South Korean diving firsts, Kim Soo-ji is looking to make history in Paris.
The women’s 3-meter springboard diving preliminaries will begin at 10 p.m. on Aug. 7.
Twenty-eight athletes will compete in the preliminaries, with the top 18 advancing to the semifinals.
The top 12 finishers in the semifinals, which begin at 5 p.m. on Aug. 8, will compete in the final at 10 p.m. on Aug. 9.
Unless Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani (both of China) make a huge mistake, the gold and silver medals will belong to China.
The battle for third place will be fierce.
For now, Kim Soo-ji has set her sights on becoming the first South Korean woman to reach the final. If she makes it to the final, she plans to have fun and perform with no regrets.
“Everyone except the Chinese will be looking for third place,” Kim said, “so I’m going to leave the results to the heavens and enjoy my third Olympics. Of course, I want to make it to the final.”
The knee pain that plagued Kim on the day of the Doha World Championships is almost gone.
“I’ve recovered to the point where it doesn’t affect my training,” she said, “and I think my knee will be in better shape on competition day.”
“My body is a bit heavy from the long flight.
However, there is time to lighten up again.
“I have about ten days to prepare for the competition in Paris,” Kim said, “and I will lighten my body.”
If the World Championships bronze medalist performs with a light body and a joyful heart, the Paris Olympics could be one of the most memorable in Korean diving history. 파워볼게임