LPGA Tour's Dewi Weber 'not worthy' for Olympics participation, country denies pick
This week, LPGA Tour's Dewi Weber got selected for the 2024 Summer Olympics. For any athlete, competing in the Summer Olympics is a dream come true. However, despite Dewi Weber's selection, her country won't allow her to compete in Paris. The Netherlands’ rules prohibit Weber from fulfilling her patriotic dream. Besides Weber, four other Dutch players qualified for the Olympics. However, only Anne Van Dam will get to compete in 2024 Paris Olympics.
Weber expressed her resentment to Golf Digest and said,
“Our own country is saying we don't think you're worthy of being an Olympian, and you're not worthy of representing the Netherlands.”
"They said no, we just don't think you're worth it going to the Olympics. That is such a hurtful and sad message to send to elite athletes like us…we are worthy of doing that and we want nothing more than to represent our country and do all the things that the Olympics are about,” she added.
The Netherlands Olympic Committee doesn't abide by the rules of the International Olympic Committee, which allow two golfers from each country if they are ranked in the top 15. As a result, Dewi Weber unfortunately won't be able to compete in the Summer Olympics. The Golf Federation affirmed that they'd organize a way for a national selection by 2028. But, currently, the situation cannot be helped.
Leaving behind Dewi Weber, which golfers qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics?
The golfers who were selected for the Summer Olympics have been announced this Tuesday. Here's a detailed list of those:
United States
- Nelly Korda
- Lilia Vu
- Rose Zhang
Republic of Korea
- Jin Young Ko
- Amy Yang
- Hyo Joo Kim
People’s Republic of China
- Ruoning Yin
- Xiyu Lin
France
- Celine Boutier
- Perrine Delacour
Australia
- Hannah Green
- Minjee Lee
Great Britain
- Charley Hull
- Georgia Hall
Japan
- Yuka Saso
- Miyu Yamashita
Thailand
- Atthaya Thitikul
- Patty Tavatanakit
Canada
- Brooke Henderson
- Alena Sharp
New Zealand
- Lydia Ko
- Momoka Kobori
Sweden
- Maja Stark
- Linn Grant
Spain
- Carlota Ciganda
- Azahara Munoz
Ireland
- Leona Maguire
- Stephanie Meadow
South Africa
- Ashleigh Buhai
- Paula Reto
India
- Aditi Ashok
- Diksha Dagar
Mexico
- Gaby Lopez
- Maria Fassi
Germany
- Esther Henseleit
- Alexandra Forsterling
Switzerland
- Albane Valenzuela
- Morgane Metraux
Denmark
- Emily Kristine Pedersen
- Nanna Koerstz Madsen
Chinese Taipei
- Peiyun Chien
- Wei-Ling Hsu
Netherlands
- Anne van Dam
- Dewi Weber
Philippines
- Bianca Pagdanganan
- Dottie Ardina
Belgium
- Manon De Roey
Austria
- Emma Spitz
Singapore
- Shannon Tan
Norway
- Celine Borge
- Madelene Stavnar
Czech Republic
- Klara Davidson Spilkova
- Sara Kouskova
Colombia
- Mariajo Uribe
Italy
- Alessandra Fanali
Malaysia
- Ashley Lau
Finland
- Ursula Wikstrom
- Noora Komulainen
Slovenia
- Ana Belac
Morocco
- Ines Laklalech
While all these golfers will proceed to the Olympics, Weber has to sacrifice her dreams. She has also pleaded with the governing bodies to make quick decisions to remedy the situation. However, only time will tell whether her requests are heard. The women's golf events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held at the Le Golf National starting on August 7.