Is There a Separate Olympic DNA... "Coach and Athlete Are Family" [Paris Olympics]

Father and Daughter Both Win Olympic Medals
Parent as Coach, Child as Athlete

Ye Seo-jeong and Ye Hong-cheol hugging.
Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Just as the saying goes, "Blood is thicker than water," it is not difficult to find relationships bound by blood among Olympic athletes. There is even talk of a distinct "Olympic DNA." Parents who are coaches support and cheer for their children who compete as athletes. The athletes refer to their coach parents as "mentors" and follow them. Athletes carrying the "Olympic DNA" are competing on the Olympic stage with the determination to "win medals like their parents."

Families United as Coaches and Athletes

Yeo Seo-jeong training ahead of the Paris Olympics.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Yeo Seo-jeong (22), a gymnastics athlete, and Yeo Hong-chul (53), a professor at Kyung Hee University, are South Korea's first father-daughter Olympic medalists. On the 3rd at 11:20 PM, Yeo Seo-jeong will compete for the gold medal in the women's vault final at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the Bercy Arena in Paris, France, against athletes from the United States, North Korea, and others. Yeo Seo-jeong advanced to the final in 4th place with an average score of 14.183 from her two vault attempts in the qualifiers held on the 28th of last month.

In the earlier women's team qualification, they unfortunately failed to advance to the final. South Korea ranked 10th with a combined score of 152.496 from the results of Group 4. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for the team final, which includes the top 8 teams. At that time, Professor Yeo gave an honest evaluation of Yeo Seo-jeong's performance. He said about the first attempt, "The only regret was that one foot lifted during Seo-jeong's front handspring," and about the second attempt, "Except for a slight wobble during the landing, there were no major issues."

Yeo Seo-jeong won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, becoming the first South Korean female gymnast to win an Olympic medal. Her father, Professor Yeo, won a silver medal in men's vault gymnastics at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Sports climbing athlete Seo Chaehyun and coach Seo Jongguk. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Seo Chae-hyun (21), a sport climbing athlete, is the daughter of Seo Jong-guk (51), the head coach of the Korean sport climbing national team. Seo is aiming for her first Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She previously competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where sport climbing was included as an official event for the first time, finishing in 8th place. Seo said earlier, "I only learned from my dad, and since he is my only mentor, I feel more stable during training." Coach Seo said, "It is an honor itself to be able to share the glorious Olympic stage with my daughter," adding, "When watching the competition, I realize I am the one who is most nervous."

Seo Chae-hyun won a gold medal in lead and a silver medal in bouldering at the 2018 Asian Youth Championships. Since her debut on the senior international stage in 2019, she has grown into a top-level athlete. She participated in six IFSC Lead World Cup events in 2019, winning four gold medals, one silver, and one bronze. She also won four consecutive titles from the 8th to 11th World Cup events. In 2021, she won gold in the lead event at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia. In the 2022 World Cup series, Seo earned two golds, three silvers, and three bronzes. At the 2023 World Championships in Bern, Switzerland, she won bronze in the lead category, securing medals in two consecutive World Championships.

Coach Seo is a former national ice climbing representative who took over as head coach of the national team in October 2021. He served as the head coach of the sport climbing national team at the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games and the 33rd Paris Olympics.

Sports climbing Seo Chaehyun. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Lee Do-hyun (22), who won a silver medal in the men's combined event at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, is also a strong medal contender in sport climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. His father is Lee Chang-hyun, the former head coach of the Korean sport climbing national team who led the team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Lee Do-hyun won a gold medal at the 2023 IFSC Czech Sport Climbing World Cup, a silver medal at the Brixen World Cup, and a bronze medal in the bouldering event at the World Championships.

Kim Won-ho and Jung Na-eun competing in the match.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Kim Won-ho (25), a badminton player, is the son of Gil Young-ah (53), the head coach of the Samsung Life Badminton Team. Kim emerged as an Olympic hopeful after winning a silver medal in men's doubles and a bronze medal in the men's team event at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games. Along with Jung Na-eun, he secured a silver medal by defeating the world No. 2 pair Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung 2-1 in the mixed doubles semifinals held on the 2nd at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris, France. This is the first mixed doubles medal since the 2008 Beijing Games (where Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung won gold). After the match, Kim Won-ho said, "I feel like I am not just living as Gil Young-ah's son, but my mom is living as Kim Won-ho's mom."

Coach Gil won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. During her active career, she was known as the "Queen of Doubles." She also won a bronze medal in women's doubles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and silver medals in women's doubles at the 1990 Beijing and 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games.

Different Sports, Same DNA

An Byeong-hun taking the tee shot in his first Olympic match.
Photo by Yonhap News

Byun-hoon Ahn (33), who returned to the Olympic stage in golf after eight years, was born to former table tennis national team coach Ahn Jae-hyung (59) and former Chinese table tennis player Zhao Zhi-min (61). Ahn competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics, finishing 11th. At an official press conference on the 29th of last month, Ahn said, "I grew up watching the Olympics a lot because of my parents' influence," and "With golf becoming an official Olympic sport again, I have nurtured my dream of winning a medal." On the 2nd, he shot a 1-over-par 72, including three birdies and four bogeys, in the first round of the men's golf event at Le Golf National (par 71) near Paris, ranking 48th.

Former coach Ahn won a bronze medal in men's doubles table tennis at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He also won a bronze medal in mixed doubles at the 1987 World Championships in New Delhi. Since 2017, he has been serving as a director of the Korea Table Tennis Association. Zhao Zhi-min won a silver medal in women's doubles and a bronze medal in singles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She also won a gold medal in the women's team event at the 1987 World Championships.