Asian curlers retire in their mid-to-late 30s. Kim Eun-jung, who is 34 years old this year, is nearing the end of her retirement, but her passion and ambition as a professional golfer are still far from over. She has many dreams to achieve at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. When asked what the Olympics meant as a professional athlete, Kim replied, “It is the result of my life.”
For now, the title of the Olympics stage is up for grabs. “Olympics is a stage where I want to go no matter how many times I go to the Olympics. It is an opportunity to show the world that Korea has our team,” Kim Eun-jung said. “In the past, Korea was always at the bottom of the rankings. The perception changed at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. The goal was to become a team that the opponent has no choice but to analyze because Korea is considered a threatening team, but now I think we have achieved some of that.”
At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which had difficulty winning the right to participate, he returned empty-handed and left a lot of regret. Team Kim, who finished the competition with a hard time on the threshold of the semifinals at the time, had to be sarcastically criticized that the silver medal he won in Pyeongchang was “preferential treatment for the host country.” Kim Eun-jung said, “I want to win a medal this time and show that I didn’t do well only then.”
Of course, putting on a national flag is not an easy task. Starting with the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, Korea’s curling team has become more leveled, and its rivals with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government have become as tight as possible. Having had a busy schedule by participating in the Grand Slam and the selection contest for the National Winter Sports Festival until the end of 2023, Team Kim will board a plane to Canada again early this month for off-season training and tour. 슬롯머신
She also gave encouragement to her juniors who will participate in the 2024 Winter Olympics. “Growing up in the Olympics itself is a growth,” Kim Eun-jung said. “I don’t think I have to try to grow up. I hope they enjoy it.”
