Korean golfer Park In-bee among 32 athletes up for IOC commission seat

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Korean golfer Park In-bee among 32 athletes up for IOC commission seat

Published: 30 Nov. 2023, 15:05 Updated: 30 Nov. 2023, 16:57

Park In-bee speaks to reporters ahead of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee's decision on their recommendation for Korea's candidate to the IOC Athletes' Commission in Seoul in August. [NEWS1]

Korean golfer Park In-bee, a 21-time LPGA Tour champion, will be one of 32 candidates vying for a spot on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission in next year’s election, the IOC announced Thursday.

KSOC line up Park In-bee for IOC Athletes’ Commission

If elected, Park would be the third Korean athlete to serve on the commission. Korean taekwondo gold medalist Moon Dae-sung held a seat from 2008 to 2016, and Korean table tennis player Ryu Seung-min’s term, which began in 2016, is set to expire after the end of the Paris Olympics next year.

Hungarian swimmer Daniel Gyurta, German fencer Britta Heidemann and Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva are the other three athletes who are vacating their seats, which they’ve held since being elected at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

All athletes competing in Paris will be eligible to vote in the Olympic Villages during the Games, the IOC said Thursday.

Hall-of-famer Park, 35, was recommended by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee to be Korea’s IOC candidate this August after she edged out five other competitors for the spot.

The IOC Athletes’ Commission serves as a link between athletes and the IOC. During their eight-year term, members of the commission work to provide athletes with a platform to share their voices and experiences.

Park competed in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Among her 21 LPGA victories, seven of them are from the majors — including a memorable first. Park won the U.S. Women’s Open in 2008 at 19 years old, just one year after her rookie debut.

Four athletes from four different sports will be elected to the commission, the IOC said.

Park is the only golfer on the list of 32 candidates — 18 women and 14 men — released Thursday.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]