Chairman Chung Jin-wan, Park Jin-ho, and Kim Hwang-tae also shouted. "Come out and exercise. Life changes" a consistent message from the Paralympic squad

Sep 09, 2024

"The best ironman of our time"Kim Hwang-tae is taking a commemorative photo against the backdrop of the Arc de Triathlon after successfully completing the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

"You can change your life. Look at me. The same life unfolds as a non-disabled person."

The 2024 Paris Paralympic Games have come to an end. The Korean team exceeded its original goal (five gold medals) by winning six gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 14 bronze medals in this competition. Because of COVID-19, at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, which was held three years ago, I was able to clean up my disappointment of only two gold medals (10 silver and 12 bronze).

However, there was always something that South Korean athletes who participated in the Paris Paralympics emphasized after the game.

It didn't matter if I won a medal or not. Chung Jin-wan, president of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled, also told the same story. A desperate message to people with disabilities like himself was 'Come out of the world and let's exercise'. He emphasized that if you come to society through exercise, you can gain confidence and open a new way of life.

Cho Jung-du (shooting), the main character of the Korean team's first gold medal, is smiling brightly with a gold medal. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Until now, most of those who have become disabled due to innate or acquired factors have lived a life cut off from society. The reason was that it was difficult to come out of the house and continue the normal social life due to the lack of social awareness of the disabled, but in many cases the disabled themselves closed their minds.

However, the athletes at the Paris Paralympics were consistent "Then nothing can be changed" It's sincere advice from their own experiences.

Cho Jung-du, the shooting representative who gave the Korean team its first gold medal, is a good example. Cho Jung-du was diagnosed with meningitis in 2007 while serving in the military, but he was not treated properly, leaving a spinal cord disorder. Because of that frustration, I lived in seclusion for the next seven to eight years, playing only shooting games at home.

Park Jin-ho, the ace sniper of the Korean national shooting team, won Korea's first two gold medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. Park Jin-ho, who harvested his first gold in the 10m air rifle on August 31, won his second medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 position held at Chatoru Shooting Center in France on the night of the 3rd (Korea time). Park Jin-ho is happy to lift his two clenched hands at the awards ceremony. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

However, he started working out in the 'real world' and met the shooting like fate and became a Paralympic gold medalist. Cho Jung-doo "You have to take courage and come out for now. You can go out and meet a lot of people and then you can see a (new) path."

Park Jin-ho, the only two-time winner of the Korean team, also said, `I had a time to wander at first, but my social life started again while exercising.' `These days, conditions have improved. If you work hard, you have many opportunities to return to society. Above all, you have to come out of the house for your body."

Kim Hwang-tae (right), who competed in the triathlon at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, is starting his last event, running, after swimming and cycling. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Kim Hwang-tae, who participated in the triathlon for the first time in the history of Korean sports for the disabled at the Paris Paralympic Games as the 'best iron man of our time', feels the same way.

Kim Hwang-tae, who risked his life to swim out of the Seine River and eventually succeeded in completing the triathlon, said "I am severely disabled. Nevertheless, he completed an extreme three-way race at the Paralympics. So look at me, and I hope other disabled people (who are only at home) will also come out and be active."

Jeong Jin-wan, chairman of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled, holds a press conference on the 2024 Paris Paralympics settlement at the main press center in Paris on the night of the 8th (Korea time). Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Chung Jin-wan, a former gold medalist in shooting at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, said he was deeply moved by these athletes' messages. At a settlement press conference held at the main press center of the Paris Paralympics on the night of the 8th (Korea time), he said, `The disabled gain confidence by seeing the disabled athletes and come out of the world. So did I. After watching a wheelchair basketball broadcast at the hospital (after the car accident), he said, `Oh, even the disabled can exercise like that, and I started exercising.'

Chairman Chung then said, `I became a breadwinner by winning a gold medal, working at work, and even getting married.'"If you come out and start exercising, you will live the same life as a non-disabled person." The players and I want to talk about that very point. We will create more bases for disabled people to exercise outside."

wman@sportschosun.com