Park In-bee Overcomes Injury to Win Gold in Women's Golf in Rio

Park In-bee reacts after winning the gold medal in women's golf at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil on Saturday. /Yonhap

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Park In-bee won the gold medal in women's golf on Saturday at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil with a 16-under-par 268.

Lydia Ko of New Zealand won silver and bronze went to China's Shanshan Feng. Yang Hee-young came fourth, while Chun In-gee and Kim Sei-young finished 13th and 25th respectively.

With a thumb injury limiting her carry distance, Park was not in peak form during the Olympics, but her putting was flawless from the first round.

After an eight-under-par second round, Stacy Lewis of the U.S. was expected to give Park some competition for the gold medal, but she turned in a lackluster performance in the third, carding five over par. Park ended the round 1 under par. World No. 1 Lydia Ko finished six under par in the third round but was not at her best in the fourth, in which she played in the same group as Park.

Due to her injury, Park was not among the pre-Games favorites to win gold. These included Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand) and Brooke Henderson (Canada). Park has gone without a title this season and even missed the cut on occasion.

/Yonhap

Park's preparation for Rio involved intensive training from 6 a.m. to sunset every day at a golf course in Incheon. The training course was chosen specifically for its similarity to the Olympic venue, which features unpredictable winds and lush greens. At home, she practiced her swing hundreds of repetitions at a time.

After the final round on Saturday, Park said she was completely drained. Her lifetime achievements include a career grand slam (four different majors during her LPGA career) and being the youngest player ever inducted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. Now, she has written a new chapter in golf history by achieving the first gold medal in Olympic golf in 116 years.