"Increase Investment in Sports Medical Science"
Yoon: "Challenges Without Giving Up Are Great Achievements Themselves"
President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee are awarding the National Appreciation Medal to triathlon athlete Kim Hwang-tae and his wife, assistant coach Kim Jin-hee, at the '2024 Paris Paralympic Team Encouragement Luncheon' held at the Blue House State Guest House on the 13th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife held a luncheon on the 13th at the Blue House State Guest House to encourage the 2024 Paris Paralympic team, the presidential office announced.
In his encouragement speech, President Yoon said, "We exceeded our goal with a total of 30 medals, including 6 gold medals at this Paralympics. While I thank and commend those who won medals, I believe that the number of medals or the ranking is not important at all," adding, "The competition itself, in which you showed indomitable will, is moving, and the sweat you shed is the real gold medal."
The president and his wife dined together on the first floor of the State Guest House to accommodate athletes with mobility difficulties. This is the first time in 12 years that the presidential couple has invited and hosted a meal with the Paralympic team since former President Lee Myung-bak’s luncheon for the 2012 London Paralympic team.
Held under the theme "Our Heroes, Beyond Limits to Victory," the event was an occasion to encourage the team that participated in a record 17 events in Korea’s Paralympic history, challenged their dreams, and gave great hope and courage to the nation. South Korea sent 83 athletes to the Paris Paralympics, winning 6 gold, 10 silver, and 14 bronze medals, ranking 22nd.
Yoon Encourages Athletes by Mentioning Their Stories One by One
President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee are attending the '2024 Paris Paralympic Team Encouragement Luncheon' held at the Blue House State Guest House on the 13th, saluting the national flag together with the athletes. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The event was attended by the boccia team, which has won gold medals in all 10 Paralympics from the 1988 Seoul Paralympics to Paris; the shooting team, which brought Korea its first gold, silver, and bronze medals in this competition; two-time champion Park Jin-ho, who set a new record; the table tennis team, which set the record for the most medals in the competition’s history; and Kim Young-geon, who won the sixth gold medal.
Unlike the Olympics, assistants who support athletes in the Paralympics were also present. Depending on the type of disability and the characteristics of the event, these assistants support or help athletes by competing alongside them or assisting their movements. Attendees included the mother of Seo Min-gyu, the youngest member of the boccia team who assists his son during matches; loaders who help load live ammunition for shooting athletes; and the wife of Kim Hwang-tae, a handler who assists with changing into competition suits or equipping prosthetic limbs during triathlon transitions.
Won Yoo-min, newly elected as an athlete representative through voting during the Paralympics, was also present. Won Yoo-min is the first naturalized disabled athlete in Korea and the second Korean to become an International Paralympic Committee athlete representative. He is also the first athlete elected by vote. Upon hearing the news of his election, President Yoon sent a congratulatory message, hoping that he would play a greater role in advancing disabled sports in Korea and expanding the Paralympic stage over the next four years.
President Yoon encouraged athletes Jo Jeong-du and Seo Hoon-tae, who became disabled during military service but showed great fighting spirit with the passion and spirit of defending the country; Jeong Ho-won, who contributed to four of the boccia team’s 10 consecutive gold medals; and wheelchair fencer Kwon Hyo-kyung, who proudly won a silver medal for the first time in 36 years since the Seoul Paralympics.
He also cheered on athletes who gave greater inspiration to the Korean people than medals, mentioning each athlete’s story one by one: Kim Hwang-tae, who completed the triathlon using only his two legs; ‘legend’ Yoo Byung-hoon and Jeon Min-jae, who participated in their fifth Paralympics and raced with fighting spirit alongside younger athletes; wheelchair fencer Jo Eun-hye, who was a makeup team leader for the movie "The Outlaws" and placed fourth in her first Paralympics; and Choi Yong-beom, who ranked eighth in canoeing, the first Korean to compete in that event.
President Yoon said, "The message all athletes participating in this Paralympics give us is clear: the challenge of not giving up itself is a great achievement," adding, "In life, we encounter many hardships and difficulties. At such times, instead of stepping back or shrinking, you must go out and run. The team has vividly shown this simple truth to our people." He continued, "I believe our people, especially the younger future generations, should see and learn more from your continuous sweat and challenges toward your dreams."
President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering an encouragement speech at the "2024 Paris Paralympic Team Encouragement Luncheon" held at the Blue House State Guesthouse on the 13th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
"South Korea, the Country That Left the Greatest Legacy in Paralympic History"
President Yoon emphasized, "The first games to hold the Olympics and Paralympics consecutively at the same venue were the 1988 Seoul Olympics and Paralympics. Right after the Seoul Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee was established, laying the foundation that led the development of disabled sports worldwide. South Korea is the country that left the greatest legacy in Paralympic history." He explained that this is why the Paralympic symbol flag, the 'Agitos,' contains the Taegeuk pattern.
Furthermore, President Yoon introduced, "The disabled sports field is an excellent model that leads to lifelong sports. At this Paralympics, 23 athletes in their teens and twenties, 45 athletes in their thirties and forties, and 15 athletes aged 50 and above participated, showing a balanced representation across all age groups."
He added, "For the first time in history, we provided sports science support tailored to the characteristics of each event to back athletes’ training and competitions. We will support athletes with more customized technology in more events and increase investment in sports medical science to improve performance." He also said, "We will expand disabled sports facilities and improve convenience to continuously increase participation in recreational sports."
At the event, as in previous Olympic events, all 83 athletes and 38 coaches were awarded the National Appreciation Medal. The National Appreciation Medal was personally proposed by President Yoon. This time, for visually impaired athletes, a separate booklet was produced with Braille explanations of the 'Team Korea' logo engraved on the front of the medal and the phrase on the back: "You, who represented South Korea at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, are our heroes."
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