Competing in her first Paralympics, Kim won the women’s sitting 12.5-kilometer individual biathlon at the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium in Italy, taking first place in 38 minutes, 00.1 seconds.
Kim drew attention for her focus and steady race management in biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and shooting. The gold was South Korea’s first in biathlon across both the Olympics and Paralympics.
It was also the first Winter Paralympics gold ever won by a South Korean woman. It marked South Korea’s second Winter Paralympics gold medal, following Shin Eui-hyun’s gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics. The article noted that both of South Korea’s Winter Paralympics gold medals have been won by athletes from BDH Paras.
The foundation said the result reflected Bae’s long-running interest and support for the development of para sports and athlete assistance, including efforts to broaden participation and help create stable training conditions so athletes can compete internationally.
Bae, who attended the ceremony to congratulate Kim, said, “I sincerely congratulate our athlete Yun-ji. I am very happy and proud that the effort and challenge she has quietly continued have led to such a valuable result on the world stage.”
Kim has four more events remaining at the Games and is set to continue competing after her breakthrough gold in her Paralympic debut.