Why Viral Olympic Shooter Kim Ye Ji Cried Every Day on the Way to Training

In the last episode of You quiz on the blockviral star Kim Ye-Ji of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris told how she became Korea’s best pistol shooter.

Kim explained that when she first started shooting as a paid athlete on a team, she felt a pressure like never before. The desire to “earn the salary that is paid” became so discouraging that her performance fell apart.

South Korean overnight sensation, sniper Kim Ye Ji, is even cooler in high school photos

I kept a list of bad grades that I didn’t get at all in high 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 various part-time jobs. So while she continued to shoot, she wasn’t necessarily thinking about competing in the Olympics.

It wasn’t until she had her first child at the age of 27 that everything changed.

Wanting to be a mother her child could 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: she could make the national team and eventually compete in the Olympics.

I felt a sense of responsibility… I didn’t want to be an embarrassing mother to my child. I wanted my child to look at me and see someone they could be proud of.

— Kim Ye-Ji

She explained that she cried every day on the way to training because she felt guilty about leaving her 6-month-old baby behind.

I left my baby to train. So… It wouldn’t make sense to mess around during training. What would be the point of not being with my child? If I wanted to make my child proud, I had to be the best. So I would shoot 300-500 times, while other people would shoot 150 a day.

— Kim Ye-Ji

Not wanting her time away from her child to be wasted, Kim trained 364 out of 365 days a year. According to fellow Team Korea shooters, Kim trained all the time, except when she was eating and sleeping.

When she felt her stamina waning, she decided to cycle three hours to the shooting range, covering a total of 90 kilometers each morning and evening. Determined to make her dream come true, she even got up and forced herself to keep going, even after she fell and scraped her entire face in an accident.

One time I flew off my bike and fell flat on my face. I scraped my whole chin. I thought I lost half my face because it hurt so much. I stood there, holding my chin, groaning in pain for a while… And then I realized I had to go to work. So I put on a mask and cycled to the shooting range, dripping with blood.

That made me realize that I had the will in me, and yet I wasn’t trying. I was so ashamed of myself.

— Kim Ye-Ji

All that hard work has definitely paid off. Kim Ye Ji has broken world records and won Olympic medals, and is now an international sensation. Not only her daughter, but all her fans would be incredibly proud to share this with the world!

Watch the full clip here.

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