By Meraj Shah

“I get to write my own ending…” says Simone Biles. In a remarkable moment captured on film in Rising— a documentary on the American gymnast—Biles opens up about the mental and physical challenges she faced after her stunning withdrawal from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Watching the documentary in the weeks leading up to the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Lydia Ko pauses and then writes that line down in her yardage book. Ko—a two-time medallist at The Games—is already the most decorated golf Olympian, and the public pressure to win gold has driven the Kiwi to go off social media entirely. Expectations aren’t new for Ko who became the youngest golfer in history (man or woman) to be ranked number one when she was just over 17 years old. Winning gold in Paris would give Ko the points needed to enter the LPGA Hall of Fame—a career goal for the Kiwi. 

A few weeks later, Ko found herself going into the final round with a two-shot lead. “The next 18 holes were going to be some of the most important 18 holes of my life…this is my last Olympics…I knew that being in this kind of position, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she would say later. As it turns out, Ko made the most of that chance and kept her two-stroke advantage till the end and finished at 10-under 278. Germany’s Esther Henseleit won the silver with a total of 8-under 280 while the People’s Republic of China’s Xiyu Lin won bronze with 7-under 281. Lydia Ko is now a three-time Olympic Medalist after earning the gold in 2024; the silver in 2016 and the bronze in 2020. A 20-time LPGA Tour winner, she is now a member of the LPGA Hall of Fame. 

Of the Indian squad Aditi Ashok did well to climb 11 places with a final round four-under after a wayward third round scuppered her chances. “I think today was probably the best day for me. I feel like I was hitting approach shots and I was holing putts, both were working, so I think that’s where the seven birdies came from,” said Ashok. Dagar had to endure some tough conditions at Le Golf National, and couldn’t quite get her game going. Ashok finished tied 29th while Dagar was 49th in the field. Ashok’s near fairy-tale finish at the 2020 Tokyo Games brought Indian golf from the fringes of public perception into the mainstream. The fact that so many people in India watched the golf on telly, and know who these two athletes are is a sign of how far things have come. 

The big winner at the Olympics was the game of golf. The huge galleries, the scores of French fans following their players and breaking into the French national anthem sporadically, the golfers embracing the Olympics experience and living at the Games village, among other distinct experiences differentiated the Games from any other golf event on the planet. And the players seemed to realise it; Scottie Scheffler was in tears as he was awarded the gold medal, as was Lydia Ko. Both understood that to take first place at the Olympics is of a different order of merit than winning even a major championship. 

The only fairy tale ending though was reserved for Ko. “Cinderella’s glass slippers are see-through and my podium shoes are also see-through… For it to have happened here at the Olympics, unreal. I do feel like I’m a mythical character in a story tale. It really couldn’t have gotten any better than I could have imagined,and I’ve had so many grateful things that happened in my career so far, and this really tops it. I couldn’t have asked for anything more to be honest,” she gushed at the post-event presser. 

As the Games drew to a close, Simone Biles emerged as one of the superstars of the 2024 Olympics. The gymnast scripted one of greatest comebacks in Olympics  history: her four medals included the individual all-round Gold that she had won eight years back. “I’ve accomplished way more than in my wildest dreams,” Biles told a packed press conference room. “Not just at this Olympics, but in the sport.”

Five days later, after the conclusion of the ladies golf event the champion spoke to the press about drawing inspiration from Biles.  “…I get to write my own ending… I kept telling myself that, and I wanted to be the one that was going to control my fate and the ending to this week. To have ended this way, it’s honestly a dream come true,” said Lydia Ko. 

In the past, Ko has spoken about retiring at the age of 30. As occasions go, there couldn’t be a better time for the newly-minted LPGA Hall-of-Famer and Olympic Champion to hang up her boots. But she’s just 27 years old, and Lydia Ko hasn’t written her exit lines yet. 

(A golfer, Meraj Shah also writes about the game. Views expressed by the author are personal and not necessarily those of financialexpress.com.)