Olympian Skylar Park ‘overwhelmed with emotion’ By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 11:20 PM CDT Monday, Aug. 12, 2024

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Skylar Park was greeted with a warm welcome in her hometown on Monday night.

Sporting a bronze medal around her neck, Park returned to Winnipeg after becoming the third Canadian to earn a medal in taekwondo at the Olympic Games — and second Manitoban, joining Dominique Bosshart, who captured bronze in Sydney, Australia, in 2000.

Greeted by roughly 100 people at James Richardson International Airport, Park was surrounded by family, friends and supporters who were chanting her name and serenading her with an impromptu rendition of O Canada.

“I was surprised to see so many people and just felt so grateful to have this community here in Winnipeg and to finally get to share it with all of the people who made this medal possible and this moment possible,” said Park. “I’m overwhelmed with emotion, for sure.”

Park was quick to place her bronze medal around the neck of her grandfather, Grand Master Deuk Park.

“It’s been something I’ve been hoping to be able to do for years and years and years,” said Park, who is coached by her father Jae. “Since this journey began, he’s the one who started it all. He’s the one who started the dream. He’s always told me to bring him home an Olympic medal and I was able to do that.”

Park was defeated in the quarterfinal by eventual gold medallist Yujin Kim of South Korea, but won her next two matches to earn her spot on the podium.

Park posed for pictures with many of the youngsters in attendance, several of whom held up a sign that said “Our mom let us stay up past our bedtime to welcome home Team Park.”

“All of my favourite people are here right now — and the people who have been instrumental,” said Park, 25. “I’m grateful these are the first people I get to share it with. But I hope I can continue to share the medal and help inspire that next generation of athletes.

“One of them being Jon Montgomery. He shared his Olympic medal with me when I was young. I was actually singing in a choir as part of one of his Olympic celebrations. I’m hoping to do the same with mine as he did with his and be able to spread the joy of sport and the Olympic movement. All of it.”

When asked about what comes next, the two-time Olympian made it clear she’s got a bigger goal in mind.

“Right now, just taking some time to relax and rest the body and recharge,” said Park. “Especially having that shot of fighting for an Olympic medal and it not ultimately being the colour that we’d hoped. I’m grateful to be on that podium for sure and I’m grateful for the result and the performance and everything that was put into it, regardless of the medal.

“But I’m definitely hungry for that gold medal, still.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld

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Ken Wiebe
Reporter

Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.

Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.