Average age of gold medalists in Paris Olympics is 23.9 years old, raising expectations for next Games

The flame of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was put out on August 12, and hopes for the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics have grown even more.

Korean athletes born after 2000 sang the national anthem in Paris, France. Having enjoyed the Olympic stage at a young age, they have plenty to look forward to in Los Angeles.

The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee expected Korea to finish 15th in overall medals with five gold medals before the Games began, but Korean athletes surpassed its gold medal target in just three days. Korea won 13 gold, nine silver, and 10 bronze medals in total and finished 8th beyond expectation.

The most welcoming part of the Paris Olympics is the appearance of Generation Z, who were not intimidated by the biggest stage. Those who enjoyed the Olympics won the gold medals by making up for their lack of experience with their skills and boldness. Three years ago, the average age of gold medalists in the Tokyo Olympics was 27.1 years old, but this time, that of gold medalists was 23.9 years old. Except for fencer Gu Bon-gil (35) and archer Kim Woo-jin (32), who became the first male archer to win three gold medals, all the gold medalists were in their teens and 20s.

The national shooting team, which achieved the best record (3 gold medals and 3 silver medals) at the Paris Olympics, is a representative of young blood.

All of the shooters who won medals were born after 2000, except for Kim Ye-ji (32), who has been touted as a “scene stealer.” Park Ha-joon and Keum Ji-hyeon (24), who won Korea's first medal of this year’s Olympics in air rifle mixed team event, were born in 2000, while Yang Ji-in (21), who won gold in women's 25-meter pistol, and Oh Ye-jin (19), who won gold in women's 10-meter air pistol, were born in 2003 and 2005. Ban Hyo-jin (17), who won Korea’s 100th gold medal in its Summer Games history (women's 10-meter air rifle), was the youngest member of the Korean national team as she was born in 2007.

In archery, where Korea swept five gold medals, the impressive performances of Lim Si-hyun (21) and Nam Soo-hyun (19) helped Korea’s female team win their 10th consecutive gold medal with impressive performances. Kim Je-deok (20), who won gold in the men's team event in Paris following Tokyo, cheered up his teammates by shouting "fighting."

Park Tae-joon (20) and Kim Yoo-jin (24) also earned gold medals in Taekwondo, where Korea is the birthplace. Badminton gold medalist An Se-young (22) showed off her golden smashing skills in a mature way. Although they did not win a gold medal, Kim Min-jong (24) and Heo Mi-mi (22) won silver medals in the men's 100kg or more and the women's 57kg, respectively.

The golden hope created in Paris represents the strength of Generation Z, who are not afraid of failure.

Kim Yu-jin was evaluated as unlikely to win a gold medal as she ranked 24th place in the World Taekwondo Federation (WT) rankings, but after winning the gold medal, she said, "I want to give confidence to younger players by saying, 'The Olympics are not a big deal.'”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.