New Zealand’s Lydia Ko is competing in her third Olympics. She won a silver medal in Rio at the 2016 Games and a bronze medal three years ago in Tokyo. Now, she is aiming for Gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and has a strong chance of making that happen.
Heading into the final round of play, the Kiwi tied for first place with Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux at 9-under overall. Ko signed for a 4-under 68 on Friday to secure her spot in the final grouping.
Metraux shot a 1-under 71 in Round 3 as she eagled the 18th to keep her spot. Team USA’s Rose Zhang fired off a 5-under 67 with two eagles in her final five holes to round out the final group.
Ko explained that she watched the Simone Biles documentary after Round 2 since she is on a social media hiatus.
“I deleted my Instagram for the week because I didn’t want other things to distract me,” Ko said. “I watched her documentary called Rising, and it was so inspirational. As an outsider, we never know what the person is going through. I think for her to have been so vulnerable, it inspires a lot of people and it inspired me.”
The documentary inspired her so much that she wrote down a few of Biles’ quotes in her yardage book.
“It was awesome to hear literally the greatest of all time as a gymnast, and maybe potentially one of the best athletes of all time, kind of show her story,” she said. “I don’t watch documentaries very much. But I watched it, and I loved it.”
Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images
Athletes at the top of their game can appreciate what others say, and sometimes, it can even motivate them.
“I think one of the things she said is, “I get to write my own ending.” Sometimes we get carried on about things we can’t control,” Ko said. “If I can do a good job of the things that I can control, the rest is out of my hands.”
Ko is looking to secure Gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Coming into the final round tied for the lead, she has a strong chance at making the podium again.
“I want to be the one determining my fate, my ending and how I end my career — my round, and that sunk in with me a lot,” she added.
It is up to Ko to secure her spot on the Olympic podium, and she is in an excellent spot to make history.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
