How Lydia Ko ended up receiving same lunch boxes as Korean archery team in Paris

Lydia Ko, of New Zealand, acknowledges the crowd, with tears in her eyes after winning the gold medal as she celebrates while walking on the 18th green after the final round of the women's golf event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Saturday. AP-Yonhap

Lydia Ko, who won the gold medal in the women’s individual golf event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has recently become the topic of widespread conversation after it was revealed that she ate the same lunch boxes as those prepared for the South Korean archery team during the Olympic Games.

Ko’s father-in-law, Chung Tae-young, vice chairman of Hyundai Card, shared this story Tuesday on his social media, saying, “In the Olympics, food is exceptionally important for athletes to maintain their condition, especially since they are in isolation.”

Ko, a Korean New Zealander, married Chung Jun, the son of Chung, in 2022. Lydia Ko’s mother-in-law, Chung Myung-yi, who is the president of Hyundai Commercial and the daughter of Hyundai Motor Group Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo, is known for her love of Korean food.

Vice Chairman Chung shared, “Lydia Ko’s love for Korean food is well-known. Although her sister had prepared Korean food for a day or two, after that, Lydia made a significant request to her mother-in-law, who was in Paris, for more food.”

He continued, “We arranged for the same restaurant that prepared the lunch boxes for the gold medal-winning Korean archery team to make Lydia’s meals, hoping the gold medal energy would be passed on to her.”

Chung added, “Due to the strict security, it was impossible to approach the Olympic team’s accommodation. Every day, we had to deliver the lunch boxes to Olympic officials near the venue, who then passed them on to Lydia in a complex operation.”

He expressed his gratitude, saying, “I’m truly thankful to the restaurant that carefully prepared the lunch boxes each day, the people who helped, and the French staff at the venue who understood the significance and carefully preserved and delivered the food. I wonder if the gold medal energy from archery was passed on to Lydia through those lunch boxes.”

Lydia Ko poses with her medal on the podium during the women's golf individual stroke play medal ceremony at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at Le Golf National in Guyancourt, southwest of Paris, Saturday. AFP-Yonhap

It is speculated that Ko was able to eat the same lunch boxes as the ones prepared for the Korean archery team thanks to her connection to Chung Myung-yi’s brother, Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group and president of the Korea Archery Association.

Chairman Chung has been leading the Archery Association since 2005, providing extensive support to Korean archery. For this Paris Olympics, he even personally oversaw the food prepared for the athletes.

Lydia Ko shot a 1-under-par 71 in the final 4th round, with four birdies, one bogey and one double bogey. She finished with a total of 10-under-par 278, beating Germany’s Esther Henseleit, who scored 8-under-par 280, by two strokes to win the gold.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by staff of The Korea Times.