South Korea War Veterans Athletes Win First Medal... Female Track Athlete Lee Eun-ju "Birthday Gift"

Disabled Veteran Athlete Lee Eun-ju Wins Silver Medal in 100m Track Event at
Invictus Games 2023

The Republic of Korea's disabled veterans team competing in the global disabled veterans festival, the 'Invictus Games 2023,' won their first medal on the third day of the competition, the 11th (local time). The first medalist for the Korean team in this tournament was athlete Lee Eun-ju, who participated in the women's 100m track event.

On the 11th (local time), Lee Eun-ju, who competed in the women's 100m track event at the 'Invictus Games 2023' held in D?sseldorf, Germany, is seen joyfully wearing her silver medal around her neck. Photo by the Ministry of National Defense Joint Press Corps, D?sseldorf (Germany).

Having advanced from the preliminary round in third place in her heat the previous day, Lee finished second behind a British athlete in the women's 100m final held at the athletics stadium at 1:10 p.m., earning a silver medal. Assigned lane 6 in the final, Lee powerfully burst off the starting blocks at the sound of the starter's pistol. However, her start was slightly delayed, and she remained in second place behind the British athlete throughout the race. Lee tried to overtake with a late sprint but could not overcome the disadvantage at the start and finished second.

At the medal ceremony held immediately after the race, she was awarded the silver medal by Marie Agnes Strack Zimmermann, Chairwoman of the Defense Committee of the German Bundestag, and was moved to tears.

Lee said, "I was excited and proud to participate as the first female athlete from Korea in the Invictus Games, but I also felt a lot of pressure. I told myself not to be obsessed with the medal and just enjoy it, but I wasn’t without ambition, so I’m very happy to have won the silver medal."

She especially added, "I hope this medal will give strength to all Korean athletes so they can achieve good results. Today is my birthday, and this feels like a very precious birthday gift. I am very grateful and will cherish this gift. I will never forget today." Lee also shared, "I couldn’t train for about 15 years after my injury, but I worked hard sweating for a month last August, thinking I just wanted to finish the 100m race. I told myself to at least avoid last place and just run the final on my birthday. I’m happy to have achieved such an unexpected great result."

She continued, "I talked with other athletes who competed with me, and we found many things in common beyond borders, such as having disabilities, being in our 40s, being women, and being soldiers. Regardless of winning or losing, we became a great support for each other." Lee also said, "I felt like ‘If I can do it, others can too,’ and ‘I will cheer for you, and you are cheering for me.’ In this way, we felt that we were people who had done something for our countries."

Meanwhile, Yoo Eul-sang, Chairman of the Korea Disabled Veterans Organization, who is visiting D?sseldorf by official invitation from the organizing committee, held an encouragement dinner with the entire Korean team, including Lee who won the silver medal, and promised, "We will do our best to ensure that all athletes can participate in the competition without injury."

Earlier that day, Chairman Yoo held talks with David Pascal, Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, which oversees the U.S. disabled veterans rehabilitation sports program. Marking the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance, they agreed to expand exchange programs for the development of rehabilitation sports for disabled veterans of both countries. Chairman Yoo and Deputy Chief Pascal also agreed to actively cooperate for Korea’s participation in the U.S. 'Warrior Games,' the origin of the 'Invictus Games,' which has become a global festival for disabled veterans.

Accordingly, Korea plans to start by dispatching athletes and officials as observers to the 'Warrior Games' to be held in Orlando, U.S., in June next year, and from subsequent tournaments, participate as an officially invited country.

With this, Korea is expected to become the first Asian country to be invited and participate in both the internationally representative disabled veterans sports competitions, the 'Invictus Games' and the 'Warrior Games.' The 'Warrior Games' is an international disabled veterans sports competition hosted annually by the U.S. Department of Defense to promote rehabilitation and awareness of disabled veterans. It features 10 sports including archery, shooting, cycling, athletics, and swimming, with about 300 representatives from disabled veterans of the U.S. as well as allied countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ukraine participating.