Time may not heal all wounds, but the four years since an infamous officiating incident at the London Olympics have at least given South Korean fencer Shin A-lam some perspective.
No matter what happens the rest of her career, the epee fencer will forever be linked with the timekeeping error at the 2012 Olympics that cost her a chance at a gold medal.
In the semifinals, Shin pushed the favored German opponent Britta Heidemann to sudden-death extra time. In one of the most controversial developments in recent Olympic memory, Shin and Heidemann exchanged three simultaneous hits while the clock kept showing one second remaining.
After the third hit, the clock went down to zero but was reset to the one-second mark. If the match had ended in a tie, Shin would have been declared the winner as the more aggressive fencer of the two. The timekeeping mishap gave Heidemann new life, and the German lunged for the decisive hit as the time finally ran out.
Shin remained on the piste while her coaches were protesting the call. The picture of the inconsolable fencer, clad in her white uniform alone on the illuminated piste in the darkened arena, became one of the lasting images of the London Games.
Over the ensuing years, the 29-year-old has faced numerous questions about the 2012 Olympics. And as she gears up for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August, Shin said she has learned to live with her connection with that incident.
"Even if that had never happened to me, I would still have gone through a lot of adversity over the past four years," she told reporters Wednesday at Seoul's National Training Center during the national team's pre-Olympic media day.
"An athletic career is a series of roller-coaster rides," she added. "So I don't know if the incident necessarily made things more difficult than they already were. I just started thinking of it as a part of my life."
Shin will be competing in her second Olympics in Rio, and said she felt the past four years "have zipped past me." And she also considers herself a better fencer, mentally and physically.
"I always think that a blown call can happen at any moment, and I must be able to deal with what I can in such a situation," she said. "And in terms of my techniques and tactics, I think I am a better athlete."
Shin said she's also more relaxed now than she had been before London, since she's already had her taste of the Olympics.
"Back then, I was worried about a lot of different things, and just qualifying for the Olympics was tough," she recalled. "I am more at ease with myself now."
Shin said her goal is to win a medal, but she'll also try to focus on the process, not just the result.
"If I were to get greedy, I'd love to win the gold," said Shin, who won an epee team silver medal in London. "But if I get too caught up with the color of a medal, I will only make things tough on myself."
Shin, world No. 15, said she is proud of her accomplishment in London because she believes she earned the team silver medal with hard work and didn't have to rely on sheer luck.
She hopes to keep her head high in Rio, too.
"I have the typical bumps and bruises, and they're nothing to worry about," she said. "I am in great shape, and I think our entire team will post great results in Rio." (Yonhap)