The main team of Korean athletes participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics is leaving for Paris via Incheon International Airport on the 20th.
The main Korean team, aiming for 5 gold medals and 15th place overall, left for the decisive battleground of Paris, France on the 20th.
The main team of 48 players, including 18 executives from the Korea Sports Council headquarters, 20 fencing players, and 10 table tennis players, boarded a flight to Paris via Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 20th.
They are scheduled to arrive in Paris after a flight of approximately 14 hours and 20 minutes.
After arriving in Paris, the headquarters executives and the table tennis team will enter the Olympic Athletes’ Village, while the fencing team will enter the ‘Team Korea Paris Platform’, a pre-training camp and meal support center established for the first time in 12 years since the 2012 London Olympics.
Korea will send a total of 260 people (143 athletes, 90 officials, and 27 headquarters executives) in 21 events to the Paris Olympics for this competition. However, if skateboarder Cho Hyun-joo is nominated as a reserve athlete and there is a vacancy in the main entry list, the final personnel may change.
Before the main team departed on this day, the advance teams for badminton and shooting departed on the 12th and are heading to Paris according to the schedule for each event.
After the main team departs on the 20th, artistic swimming (22nd), race walking (24th), diving, taekwondo, and horseback riding (25th) are scheduled to join the team in Paris. Korea has set a goal of winning 5-6 gold medals and finishing in 15th place overall in this competition. It is a low expectation compared to the ‘Top 10' that was always the goal.
In a standing interview before departure, Lee Ki-heung, chairman of the Korean Sports Council, emphasized, “I am both excited and worried. There are certainly concerns about the climate and other factors,” but also emphasized, “Because the people are sending us a lot of support, I am confident that our athletes will fully demonstrate their skills and bring joy to the people.” He continued,
“The Olympics are unpredictable. Still, we are leaving with the expectation that we will achieve better results than expected,” and added, “More than anything, our athletes need support. I ask for your continued support and encouragement.”
Jeong Kang-seon, head of the Paris Olympics delegation, said, “We have set a goal of three gold medals in archery, but I hope to win gold medals in all five events,” and added, “The women’s fencing sabre team event and individual event are also good. I am also looking forward to swimming. Surprisingly, we may win medals in shooting or sport climbing as well.”
Ahead of the upcoming Olympics, Korea has set up the ‘Team Korea Paris Platform’ at the French National Sports Center for Defense (CNDS) in Fontainebleau, France, near Paris. The training center and catering center will be built in a similar environment to the Jincheon Athletes’ Village, which is expected to help the athletes adapt to the local environment. Director Jeong said, “At the London Olympics, where we set up our camp, we placed 5th, which was our best result in an overseas competition. This time, we are prepared with food and a training environment, so it will help with conditioning.” The team will begin their full-scale competition starting with the opening ceremony held on the Seine River in Paris on the 26th. 안전놀이터
