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Lydia Ko - New Zealand golf star completes Olympic golf medals by winning gold at Paris 2024.
Lydia Ko won silver at Rio 2016, bronze at Tokyo 2021 and gold at Paris 2024. The New Zealand legend is the only golfer to win medals at 2 and 3 Olympics to date. This is truly a feat that will be very difficult for any female golfer to achieve in history when the Olympics only take place once every 4 years, and the fluctuations in golf, especially in women's golf, are too great.
Lydia Ko has a joint-leading position at 9 under after round 3 with Swiss golfer Megane Metraux. However, she did not start well when she bogey hole 1. But her direct opponent at that time, Megane Metraux, also started a series of crisis holes when she made 2 consecutive bogeys before getting +3 at hole number 5 par 4. The Swiss golfer eliminated herself from the race very early.
Meanwhile, the spirit of a golfer who has won many championships and played at the Olympic arena, Lydia Ko quickly regained 3 birdies for herself at holes 3, 7, 9 to raise her total score to minus 11. The New Zealand golfer created a gap of 5 negative strokes compared to the chasing group. However, the mistake came at hole 13 par 4 when on the approach shot about 100 yards from the flag, Lydia Ko unexpectedly had an attack that lacked distance, causing the ball to go into the water and then made a double bogey. She fell back to minus 9, with an even par score for the day. At that time, the heat of the final match was even more intense when German golfer Esther Henseleit accelerated with a 66 (-6) round to reach a total of minus 8. Hensseleit scored a double birdie on holes 17 and 18 to put pressure on the leader Lydia Ko.
However, Lydia Ko's class and mettle were shown in game management and a good mentality to not make any more mistakes. Lydia had a par score on the remaining holes, including hole 18 par 5, she intended to split 3 strokes on the green to maintain the lead. Everything was settled when Lydia Ko had a pitch from a distance of 76 yards to bring the ball behind the flag. And a truly perfect ending when Lydia Ko scored a birdie on the last hole and reached a double-digit minus score with a total of minus 10 to bring the Olympic gold medal to the country in Paris. Lydia Ko has completed a trio of medals in three consecutive Olympics at the age of 27.
The bronze medal went to Chinese golfer Lin Xiyu with a score of minus 7. The silver medal went to Esther Henseleit of Germany with a score of minus 8. She became the first German golfer to bring home an Olympic medal for her country. As for Lin Xiyu, she is the next Chinese golfer after Shanshan Feng in Rio 2016 to bring home a bronze medal at the Olympics.
The Paris Olympic women’s golf podium (from left) silver winner Esther Henseleit of Germany, event champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand and bronze medallist Janet Xiyu Lin of China. Image courtesy Olympic Golf/X.
Lydia Ko's gold medal is the eighth gold medal for the New Zealand sports delegation and the 17th medal at this year's Olympics. On August 11, the Paris Olympics will enter its final day.
Lydia Ko's Career Highlights
- 3 Olympic Medals (Gold in Paris 2024, Silver in Rio 2016, Bronze in Tokyo 2021)
- 20 LPGA Championships
- 2x Major Champion
- 2014 LPGA Rookie of the Year
- 2015, 2022 LPGA Athlete of the Year
- 2021 and 2022 Vare Trophy Recipient
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