Kim Mi-rae: “I regret not winning a medal 4 years ago. I’m happy to have won a silver medal.” Jo Jin-mi, who is competing in her first Olympics, “I’m very happy even though I came in second.”
Kim Mi-rae (23) and Jo Jin-mi (20), who won silver medals in the women’s synchronized 10m platform diving event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, remained silent when asked questions by a South Korean reporter in the mixed zone. They
only answered questions from a South Korean reporter at the official press conference.
North Korea’s Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin-mi earned a combined score of 315.90 points in their first to fifth attempts in the women’s synchronized 10m platform diving event held at the Paris Aquatics Center in France on the 31st (Korean time), coming in second place behind China’s Chen Yuxi and Quan Hongcan, who earned 359.10 points.
The two presented North Korea with its second medal at this competition. The silver medal won by Ri Jeong-sik and Kim Geum-yong in the table tennis mixed doubles on the 30th was North Korea’s first medal at this competition.
This is the first time North Korea has won a diving medal at the Olympics.
After the medal ceremony, Kim Mi-rae and Cho Jin-mi entered the mixed zone accompanied by a female interpreter and a female official. The two were interviewed by an OIS (Olympic Information Service) official and then moved on.
Kim Mi-rae and Cho Jin-mi did not respond to the call of a Korean reporter, but responded to a foreign reporter’s request for an interview. When the foreign reporter asked them how they felt about winning the medals, Kim Mi-rae and Cho Jin-mi seemed embarrassed and could not answer. Then the female interpreter said, “Speak positively. There’s nothing to worry about.” “Just say that you’re happy. Speak comfortably.” Most of the interviews with foreign reporters in the mixed zone were answered by the interpreters. Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin-mi mostly just nodded. When asked, “How is it that you were unable to participate in the Tokyo Olympics three years ago and are participating this time?” a female interpreter answered, “It’s because of COVID-19, so there’s nothing to regret.” When asked, “ How was it competing against China?” Kim Mi-rae herself opened her mouth. “We didn’t compete against China. We tried to win against ourselves, but our results didn’t go well. We’re still weak. We’ll do our best.” When asked, “How is life in the athletes’ village?” she briefly answered, “It’s good,” and smiled shyly. After the foreign reporter finished interviewing them, a Korean reporter asked, “This is North Korea’s first medal in an Olympic diving event, so I want to hear your thoughts,” but Kim Mi-rae, Jo Jin-mi, and the interpreter kept their mouths shut and tried to leave the mixed zone. When asked through the foreign reporter who interviewed them, the interpreter only gave short answers. When Korean reporters showed up at the mixed zone that day, the mixed zone manager asked, “Are you from North Korea or South Korea?” The manager also asked, “Are there any restrictions on conducting interviews?” An OIS official also asked, “Are there any policies on interviewing North Korean athletes?” Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin-mi, who had consistently remained silent when asked questions by Korean reporters in the mixed zone, did not avoid answering questions at the official press conference. The interpreter who accompanied them to the mixed zone was sitting among the reporters at the press conference. Whenever a question was directed at them, Kim Mi-rae and Jo Jin-mi looked at the interpreter as if asking permission before continuing to answer. When a Chinese reporter asked how they felt about winning the first ever medal in a diving event, Kim Mi-rae said, “This is the first Olympic medal in history. So it’s a very happy thing for us,” and pledged, “We tried hard to get first place, but it didn’t go well. We will work harder and get good results in the future.” Kim Mi-rae also competed in the same event at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. At that time, she narrowly missed out on a medal, coming in fourth place. When asked about this by Korean reporters, Kim Mi-rae reflected, “I was really disappointed when I didn’t win a medal. I worked harder than anyone else, but I couldn’t win a medal because my last move didn’t work out.” She continued, “In our home country, we train hard in the morning and afternoon. We sweat more and work harder than others.” Kim Mi-rae said, “I didn’t win a gold medal today, but I’m happy to have won a silver medal. Thank you,” and smiled brightly. Jo Jin-mi, who is competing in the Olympics for the first time, said, “It’s my first time competing, and although I came in second and won a silver medal, I’m very happy,” and emphasized, “I won’t let my guard down and will work even harder to win a gold medal.” 토토사이트
