“As a sports administrator, I think there is a role I can contribute to diplomacy.”
Jin Jong-oh (44, Seoul City Hall), the history of Korean shooting itself, is a legend who won four gold medals and two silver medals at the Olympics. If you include World Championships and Asian Games, you get 18 gold, 11 silver, and 8 bronze. Having built a successful career as an athlete, he now dreams of becoming an athlete member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), contributing to Korea’s sports diplomacy.
In a phone call with Sports Dong-A on the 22nd, Jin Jong-oh said, “I showed my will to run for the IOC Athletes Commission in public for the first time after taking office as the organizing committee chairman of the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympics the previous day (21st).” (Current president of the Korea Table Tennis Association) has been dreaming of since the time he ran. During his career as a player, he thoroughly prepared himself.” 토토사이트
While never officially mentioning his retirement, Jin Jong-oh currently serves as a playing coach at Seoul City Hall. Although the domains of players, coaches, and administrators are thoroughly separated, and the requirements are different, he thinks that he will not draw a line himself. He said, “Usually players think about the life of a coach after retiring. However, while I was thinking of the last goal I could do as a sports person, I thought of the IOC Athletes Commissioner.” He doesn’t think administrators are a separate area from players and coaches,” he explained.
So far, South Korea’s IOC Athletes’ Commission is only the current member Seung-Min Yoo and former member Dae-Sung Moon. Although he was unable to get advice from them due to his status as an IOC Athletes Commission member who has a more busy schedule than expected, Jin Jong-oh’s great strength is the career and international connections he has built during his long career as an athlete. There is not much time left as the Korea Sports Council plans to select one candidate for the IOC Athletes Commission in March next year.
Jin Jong-oh said, “During his active career, he has been constantly interacting with overseas players, such as donating talent while traveling through numerous international competitions. It was regrettable that exchanges decreased in the pandemic era following the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), but we plan to continue exchanges again now in the endemic era.” I will prepare to run for the commissioner,” he said with strength.