South Korean golfer Tom Kim denied that his tears on the golf course on Sunday had anything to do with missing out on a medal or being unable to avoid military service in his home country.
Kim was a bronze medal favorite for much of the day, finishing eighth in the Olympic tournament, but a double bogey on the 18th hole left her in tears after dropping down the rankings.
The emotional response is believed to be in response to narrowly missing out on an award that would have spared them the 18-21 months of military service required for all able-bodied South Korean men by the age of 35. They must enlist before their 28th birthday.
“Not at all,” Kim told reporters. According to the Telegraph“I wasn’t thinking about it at all. I was just trying to win a medal for my country, not for myself. I’ve never been so emotional after a round.”
Military service is compulsory but the 22-year-old could have avoided it if he had won an Olympic medal or a gold medal at the Asian Games.
Kim will have two further chances at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
If that were the reason for the emotional reaction, it would be understandable, but Kim insisted that this was not the case.
2024 Paris Olympics
Gold medalist Scottie Scheffler came over to console Kim after she finished the 18th hole.
“These emotions are surprising, but I guess they’re just coming out because I’ve worked so hard this past year to get to this position,” Kim said, “and what Scotty said to me after the round really brought it all out, so I’m just trying to calm myself down now.”
“He’s a really good friend and he understands what I’ve been through. To have a friend say something like this to me after what he did.” [winning the gold]that means a lot.”
This situation reminds me of another Korean golfer, Bae Sang-moon.
Bae had to enlist in the military in 2015 at the peak of his golf career and although he returned to golf two years later, he was not the same player as before.
