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Olympic sports shooter Kim Ye-ji named in BBC's 100 Women 2024 list

Published: 03 Dec. 2024, 16:32 Updated: 03 Dec. 2024, 18:16

Shooter Kim Ye-ji's photo shoot with fashion magazine W Korea [W KOREA]

Olympic silver medalist sports shooter and internet icon Kim Ye-ji has been included on the BBC’s 100 Women 2024 list.

The BBC released its 100 Women 2024 list on Tuesday, featuring a wide range of inspiring and influential females from around the world. They include stranded astronaut Sunita Williams, rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot, actress Sharon Stone and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad.

“Charisma and sporting achievements brought Kim Ye-ji to the world's attention this year,” said the BBC.

Kim Ye-ji competes in the 25-meter women’s qualification round in Chateauroux, France on July 28. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Kim won a silver medal in the women’s 10-meter air pistol event at the 2024 Paris Olympics in July. Just months earlier, she also set a new world record in the women’s 25-meter pistol event.

Videos showcasing Kim’s impeccable shooting skills quickly went viral on social media. The BBC, however, noted that it was "not only her skills, but also her ice cool demeanour, unbreakable concentration and sci-fi-inspired look with bespoke glasses to help with precision” that brought Kim to internet stardom.

Her distinctive aura gained further attention when Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised her on X, formerly Twitter, saying, "She should be cast in an action movie. No acting required!" In November, Kim became Tesla Korea’s brand ambassador.

Olympic shooter Kim Ye-ji has been named as a brand ambassador for Tesla Korea. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Many news outlet echoed the sentiment, with CNN describing her as “impossibly cool, casually breaks world records.”

On the 2024 list, BBC also quoted an inspirational phrase from Kim: “Through sports, we demonstrate resilience, teamwork and determination — values that, in my opinion, extend far beyond the playing field to inspire broader societal change.”

Kim is currently taking a break from shooting, having terminated her contract with her sports team to spend more time with her family, Kim’s agency Plfil announced in early November.

Park Su-bin, co-founder of the Stair Crusher Club, was another Korean woman to make the list.

A wheelchair user, Park’s nonprofit project focuses on collecting information on routes that are unfriendly to wheelchair users and places without step-free access in Korea, striving to create an accessibility map.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]