'This is why we do the Olympics'

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Tue, May 30, 2017 | 16:22

2016 Rio Olympics

'This is why we do the Olympics'

Posted : 2016-08-10 14:49

Updated : 2016-08-11 18:01

Photos of South Korean gymnast Lee Eun-ju taking a selfie with rival Hong Un-jong from North Korea at the Rio Olympic Games are going viral.

Photographers caught the two smiling gymnasts taking a picture of themselves with a phone during a practice session.

The pictures have been widely praised as capturing the Olympic spirit. People said the photos were a "great example of the unity" the Olympics can bring.

"This is why we do the Olympics," tweeted American political scientist Ian Bremmer. His view was retweeted more than 18,000 times.

IOC President Thomas Bach described the Koreans' selfie as a "great gesture."

"Fortunately, we see quite a few of these gestures here during the Olympic games," Bach said Tuesday.

Lee, 17, and Hong, 27, competed as individual qualifiers, with the games in Brazil being Lee's first Olympics. Hong became North Korea's first gymnast to win a medal at the Olympics when she took home gold in the vault in the 2008 Beijing Games.

South Korea's Lee Eun-ju, left, talks with North Korea's Hong Un-jong during the artistic gymnastics women's qualification the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016. / AP-Yonhap

South Korea's Lee Eun-ju flashes a V sign as she poses with North Korean gymnast Hong Un-jong during the artistic gymnastics women's qualification the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016. / Yonhap

pss@ktimes.com