'Heroes of All of Us' President 尹 encouraged the Paris Paralympic team...12 years after the Lee Myung Bak government

Sep 13, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Kun-hee hug after presenting the Triathlon Kim Hwang-tae with the medal of public thanks at the '2024 Paris Paralympic Games Team Encouragement luncheon" held at the Blue House Guest House on the 13th

Yoon Suk Yeol President and Mrs. Yoon Suk Yeol Award National Thank You Medal to Paris Paralympians President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Gun-hee present the National Thank You Medal to wheelchair fencing athletes Cho Eun-hye and shooting athlete Seo Hoon-tae at the '2024 Paris Paralympic Team Encouragement Luncheon" held at the Blue House Guest House on the 13th. Copyright (c) Yonhap News, Unauthorized Reproduction-Redistribution, No Learning and Utilization of AI>

At the Paris Paralympics, a presidential luncheon event was held to encourage the athletes of the disabled national team who returned home to gold.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife held a luncheon to encourage the 2024 Paris Paralympic athletes at the Blue House Guest House on the 13th. It is the first time in 12 years that the president and his wife have invited Paralympic athletes to eat together since Lee Myung Bak, the former president of the 2012 London Paralympics. The luncheon event, which was held under the theme of 'Heroes of all of us, Beyond the Limits, to Victory', was held to encourage the athletes who gave hope and courage to the people with a great victory, with 83 participating in the most 17 events in the history of the Korean Paralympic Games with 6 gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 14 bronze medals.

Yoon Suk Yeol President and his wife greet participants in the encouraging luncheon for the Paris Paralympic athletes

First Lady Kim Gun-hee greets participants in a luncheon encouraging the Paris Paralympic athletes

President Yoon Suk Yeol gives a luncheon encouragement speech for the Paris Paralympic athletes

During the luncheon, Jung Ho-won and Boccia, who led the team to 10 consecutive gold medals from Seoul in 1988 to Paris in 2024, Park Jin-ho, the only two-time winner and MVP of the Paris Paralympics, the table tennis team that set the record for the most medals and won the 6th gold medal exceeding the goal of five gold medals, Shin Sung-young, a badminton player with a silver medal around her neck, and Joo Jung-hoon, a Taekwondo player who won two consecutive bronze medals despite a pelvic injury in the quarterfinals, turned from a 'crime city' stylist to a fencer and made his first Paralympic Games, Korea's first Paralympic triathlon team to cross the Seine River by competing in three Paralympic triathlons 'Iron without arms'Kim Hwang-tae, rowing team such as Choi Yong-beom who participated in the 4th rowing cox event for the first time in history, Jeong Ji-song who ranked 5th in Korea's first shot put, women's goalball team that reached the quarterfinals at the Paralympics in 28 years, weightlifting Kim Kyu-ho who quit his stable job and is developing his dream of becoming a Paralympic medalist, track legend Yoo Byung-hoon who competed in five Paralympics, Jeon Min-jae, and Lee Do-yeon who chall. Won Yoo-min, who was elected as a new IPC member during the Paralympics, also attended.

It was also joined by 'Unsung Hero', who contributed to the best performance through game assistance and silent support. Also invited were Seo Min-kyu's mother, the youngest member of the Boccia national team, a loader who helps shooters load live ammunition, a "handler" who helps them wear uniforms or equip prosthetic arms when switching to triathlon events, Kim Jin-hee, wife of Kim Hwang-tae, a chef who provided local meals for athletes, and a researcher at the Korea Sports Science Institute who supported scientific training and game analysis.

Yoon Suk Yeol President and his wife attend an encouraging luncheon for the Paris Paralympic athletes

Yoon Suk Yeol President and his wife award a medal for national gratitude to Kim Hwang-tae for the Paris Paralympics

Hye Mi, senior presidential secretary for response to low birth weight, talks with wheelchair fencing athlete Cho Eun-hye at the '2024 Paris Paralympic Team Encouragement Luncheon' held at the presidential guesthouse on the 13th.

Luncheon to encourage the Paris Paralympic athletes, check the braille menu

President Yoon Suk Yeol delivered a message in his encouragement speech, saying, `We exceeded our goal with six gold medals, a total of 30 medals at the Paris Paralympics, and the athletes showed their indomitable will regardless of medals or rankings, and the sweat dripping from the athletes is the gold medal.' Cho and Seo Hoon-tae, who suffered disabilities while serving in the military, showed off their great fighting spirit with their spirit and passion to protect the country, Chung Ho-won contributed four of Boccia's 10th consecutive gold medals, and wheelchair fencing champion Kwon Hyo-kyung said, "I am proud to have won a silver medal in 36 years since the Seoul Paralympics." President Yoon applauded by mentioning stories such as `Kim Hwang-tae, who completed the triathlon with only two legs, the 'Legend of Legends' Yoo Byung-hoon and Jeon Min-jae, who participated in the 5th Paralympics and competed with young athletes, and Cho Eun-hye, who became a wheelchair fencing athlete and ranked 4th in the first Paralympic Games, and Choi Yong-beom, who ranked 8th in the canoe race for the first time as a Korean athlete.' "The first Paralympic Games in succession at the same venue after the Olympics were the 1988 Seoul Olympics and Paralympics, and the International Paralympic Committee was established immediately after the Seoul Paralympics, laying the foundation for the development of sports for the disabled around the world. The Paralympic Games are an excellent model for lifelong sports. The Paralympic Games include 23 athletes in their teens and 20s, 45 athletes in their 30s and 40s, and 15 athletes in their 50s and older. All ages participated evenly."

President Yoon promised that he will continue to expand participation in sports and medical science by increasing the number of sports facilities for the disabled and increasing convenience in the future by supporting athletes with more customized technology for more sports.

At the luncheon event, as at the Olympic dinner, all 83 athletes and 38 leaders were awarded medals for public appreciation. You represent Korea at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, with the logo of 'Team Korea' on the front of the medal for blind athletes such as goalball and the logo on the back of "Team Korea" The phrase was produced separately or separately with a gradual explanation.

The president and his wife presented medals to Kim Hwang-tae, Kim's handler and wife, Kim Jin-hee, a special forces agent-turned shooting bronze medalist Seo Hoon-tae, and wheelchair fencing Cho Eun-hye, a former makeup team leader of the movie `The Crime City.'

After the luncheon, the world's first deaf idol group Big Ocean performed an exciting performance, adding to the meaning and emotion of the event.

sky4us@sportschosun.com