South Korean winter sports athletes and their mothers pose for a photo during an event organized by P&G Korea in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, on Feb. 23, 2018. (Image: Yonhap)
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea, Feb. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – Mothers of South Korean athletes at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games on Friday shared their stories on how they raised their children to become successful Olympians.
The mothers of four athletes — Yun Sung-bin, Lee Sang-hwa, Choi Min-jeong and Park Seung-hi — attended an event organized by P&G Korea named “Thank You Mom” and said they are proud of what their children have achieved through their careers.
“I’m proud of what she has been through and want to thank all people for cheering for my daughter at the Olympic Games,” said Kim In-soon, mother of two-time Olympic gold medalist Lee Sang-hwa, who also won silver in the women’s 500-meter speed skating at the PyeongChang Olympics. “I’m just honored to be with her.”
The four mothers said it’s important to overcome bias and challenges from others when children decide to become competitive athletes.
“People told me why do I let my son compete in a dangerous sport,” said Cho Young-hee, mother of skeleton slider Yun, the first Asian to claim an Olympic gold medal in sliding sports. “Others said my child is too late to become a successful athlete, but I supported my child because nothing is easy in life. Since he had a belief and was confident in what he’s doing, I was ready to support him.”
Lee Ok-kyung, who raised her three children to become national speed skaters, said her advice to Park Seung-hi, a short tracker-turned-speed skater who previously won two gold at Sochi 2014, was simple: Just enjoy yourself and do your best.
“Park knows what she has to do, and I always told her to enjoy the moment and do your best, and that the results will follow,” she said. “If you lose, your life doesn’t change. I just think she needs to do her best not to have any regrets, and I think she did.”
Lee Jae-soon, mother of short tracker Choi Min-jeong, a double gold medalist at the PyeongChang Olympics, said her way of encouraging her daughter was to write her a letter.
“She must have had a lot of pressure, but I’m happy she finished well without getting a major injury,” she said. “I only wrote her a letter and told her that you can do your best.”
The athletes said without the support from their mothers, they would not have gotten this far.
“There were so many hard times, since I started this sport, but without my mom’s sacrifice, faith and devotion, I was able to bear with it,” Choi said.
Lee Sang-hwa, who was in her fourth Olympics, said she is ready to become a better daughter.
“You really get sensitive and picky when you prepare for the Olympics, but my mother always understood me,” she said. “I was able to feel her love through phone talks. I want to do more good things for my mother.”
Yun’s words to his mother were simple, but it made her cry.
“I’m not a person who really expresses my emotions well, but today, I just want to say, ‘I love you mom.’”
(Yonhap)
