The pinnacle of a lifetime of arduous preparation, Paris 2024 represents the make-or-break moment for the majority of Olympians. For Nelly Korda, who is defending her gold medal at the French capital’s Le Golf National, the Olympics are just one stop on a worldwide tour of golf supremacy.
At the beginning of 2024, Korda’s status as one of the most well-known and respected athletes was already assured, but a phenomenal single season has propelled the 25-year-old to new heights. Her incredible journey started in January in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida, with a play-off triumph over Lydia Ko in the Drive-On Championship.
It was the first of five straight wins on the LPGA Tour, a run that included a second major championship at the Chevron Championship and four wins in five weekends in March and April. That victory in Texas followed in the footsteps of Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez’s streaks. Despite the inevitable failures in an uncertain sport, Korda had once again cemented her position as the LPGA’s dominant power, missing cuts at the next two majors.
Korda remarked, “Gosh, it hasn’t even sank in,” regarding matching her streak record. Maybe it will dawn on you in ten or fifteen years. Hopefully, one day, someone succeeds.
Success in sports runs in the family. In the late 1990s, father Petr Korda competed regularly in Grand Slam events and won the Australian Open in 1998. Meanwhile, mother Regina Rajchrtova achieved a stellar career on the court, ranking in the top 30 worldwide. The older sister Jessica has six LPGA Tour titles on a cluttered mantelpiece in the Korda family home, while the younger brother Sebastian followed his parents into the tennis game and is a threat in the top 10.
Despite being five years apart in age, the sisters’ strong childhood relationships have persisted while they are on tour. Nelly called the four American women’s representatives in Tokyo 2020 a “dream” situation. The two of them were among the four. Her sister was among the first to greet the younger sibling when she managed to hold off players Mone Inami of Japan and Ko of New Zealand while the United States swept the golfing golds.
It was a portion of Korda’s first perfect summer, as she also won her first major tournament in 2021 at the Women’s PGA Championship. Her form has been inconsistent and she has struggled with a blood clot in her arm, but she is convinced that she can compete in Paris again after her magical season.
After being chosen to compete for an Olympic medal with Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang, Korda declared, “I’m honored to represent the United States once again on the Olympic stage this summer in Paris.”
“Achieving the gold medal in Tokyo was a career high point and a dream come true for me. I’m excited to represent Team USA with additional hardware and to defend my gold title.
Golf has never had a defending Olympic champion, partly because the sport has been excluded from the quadrennial competition for 112 years. But somewhere in the far past, there might be hope for Korda and her countrymen. Margaret Abbott of the United States won the first-ever Olympic gold medal at the first-ever Paris Games in 1900. The medal was awarded in a new medal event that consisted of just nine holes. Korda hopes to gild a beautiful year by seeing the Star Spangled Banner wave once more.
