How was his “main character energy” created?
In the latest episode of Your Block Quizviral star Kim Ye Ji of the 2024 Paris Olympics recounted how she became Korea’s most famous female pistol shooter.
Kim explained that when she started shooting as a paid athlete on a team, she felt a pressure she had never felt before. The desire to “they deserve to have their salary paid” it became so discouraging that his performance fell apart.
South Korean Sharpshooter Kim Ye Ji Looks Even Hotter in High School Photos
I kept track of my terrible grades, which I hadn’t even gotten in middle school.
—Kim Ye Ji
Realizing she was losing her spark, Kim left the team and began competing as an independent athlete. To support herself, she worked part-time at various jobs. So while she continued shooting, she wasn’t necessarily thinking about competing in the Olympics.
Everything changed after she gave birth to her first child, at age 27.
Wanting to be a mom her baby would be proud of, Kim dedicated herself to training harder. Training harder, of course, led to better scores. Soon, Kim was able to believe in herself again, making the national team, and eventually competing in the Olympics.
I felt a sense of responsibility… I didn’t want to be an embarrassing mother to my son. I wanted my son to look at me and see someone he could be proud of.
—Kim Ye Ji
She explained that she cried every day on her way to training because she felt guilty for leaving her 6-month-old baby behind.
I was leaving my baby behind to train him. So… it wouldn’t make sense for me to waste my time training. What would be the point of staying away from my son? If I wanted to make my son proud, I had to be the best. So I would shoot 300-500 times when other people would shoot 150 a day.
—Kim Ye Ji
Not wanting her time away from her son to be in vain, Kim trained 364 days out of 365 in a year. According to fellow shooters on Team Korea, Kim would train every moment except when she was eating and sleeping.
In fact, when she felt her stamina was waning, she decided to cycle for three hours to the shooting range, covering a total of 55 miles (90 kilometers) each morning and evening. Determined to make her dream come true, she stood up and forced herself to continue even after falling and scraping her entire face in an accident.
One time, I flew off my bike and fell face down. I scraped my entire chin. I thought I had lost half my face because it hurt so much. I just stood there, holding my chin, moaning in pain for a while… And then I realized I still had to get to work. So I put on a mask and cycled to the shooting range while dripping blood.
This made me realize that I had the will in me, and yet, I didn’t do my best. I was so ashamed of myself.
—Kim Ye Ji
All that hard work has definitely paid off. After breaking world records and winning Olympic medals, Kim Ye Ji is now an international sensation, a sensation that not only her daughter, but all of her fans would be incredibly proud to share with the world!
Watch the full video here.
Share this post
