“It's been in my backpack" - Lydia Ko says she 'hasn't looked' at her Olympic gold medal, opts against showing it off in Scotland
The 2024 Olympics turned out to be a memorable event for Lydia Ko as she managed to win the gold medal in the women's golf event for Team New Zealand. She scored 10-under at the Games in Paris to beat the likes of Esther Henseleit and Lin Xiyu, who won the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
However, despite winning the gold medal, Ko claims she hasn't looked at it since after she won. Currently in Scotland for the ISPS Hand Women's Scottish Open, she explained her reluctance to look at the medal in an interview with The Scotsman.
"It's been in my backpack. I haven't gone in the case yet, so I haven't been able to fully treasure it. I haven't actually looked at it in a couple of days," Lydia Ko said.
"When I was flying with it, it was weird to kind of take it out because not everybody knows that I'm an athlete nor an Olympian or that I had won a medal. So, it's kind of awkward at times. I don't really want to feel like it's bragging, but I have to. It's just, yeah, I haven't seen it."
Further, Ko revealed that she also hasn't seen the medals she won at the Rio Olympics and Tokyo Olympics since after she won them. She won the silver in 2016 and the bronze medal in 2021. She concluded by saying she needs to find a good place to put all her medals together, now that she has had all three Olympic podium finishes.
Lydia Ko reveals who sent her congratulatory messages after her induction into the Hall Of Fame
Lydia Ko's recent feat has not only earned her an Olympic gold but also a place in the LPGA Hall Of Fame. At the age of 27, she is the youngest player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In the aforementioned interview, Ko was asked who messaged her to congratulate her after the news of her Hall of Fame induction went viral. She revealed that several people reached out to her and named some of them.
"A lot of the ladies that are already in the Hall of Fame reached out, and especially somebody like Nancy Lopez. Everytime I see her, she gives me good vibes, always words of wisdom, and for somebody like her to take me under her wing and support me means a lot. There's been just so many people, like Meg [Mallon] and Beth [Daniel] said they had cried watching me. It means a lot," Lydia Ko said.
Further, Ko said that as a player, everyone who is involved knows how hard it is. She added that everyone is "on this journey together." She concluded that seeing everyone she plays alongside support her makes her feel very grateful.