While the Paris gymnastics arena cheered on American Simone Biles for her third gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, among those applauding was An Chang-ok, a competitor from North Korea.
During the women’s vault final on Saturday, competitors from the North competed alongside opponents from South Korea and the US.
At 21 years old, she smiled and greeted the TV cameras, embracing at least one other finalist – uncommon encounters with people from other countries for a young woman who must navigate diplomatic challenges while being closely watched on her journey abroad.
The choice of Pyongyang to dispatch athletes to the Games, with two even taking a selfie with South Korean rivals, has sparked optimism that the closed-off state may be starting to open up again after a prolonged period of isolation.
In the end, this follows a tense time where the North has sent balloons filled with trash to the South.
- Biles wins the vault competition in a strong and impressive manner.
- More major events from the eighth day of the Games.
- Who is at the top of the medal standings in Paris?
Jean H Lee, a former Associated Press journalist, suggested that the North’s involvement in the Games indicated a significant comeback on the global stage.
The country did not send any athletes to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics because it closed itself off even more strictly than usual due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Lee stated that in Paris, there was a focus on “trying to reconnect with the global community” while acknowledging the presence of the contentious nuclear program issue.
The North’s desire for nuclear weapons consistently creates tension with the South and the US. However, on Saturday, there was no indication of hostility among the gymnasts from the three countries.
These new North Korean athletes have won two silver medals in Paris, occasionally catching sport commentators off guard.
According to Prof Ramon Pacheco Pardo of King’s College London, who has extensively studied the two Koreas, the country had goals beyond just winning medals.
Prod Pacheco Pardo stated that the ancient North Korean practice of “sports diplomacy” aimed to show the country as being normal through minimal engagement in international events. He explained that athletes are among the limited number of individuals in North Korea who will not be seen suspiciously by the world.
The difference in support for An and Biles was extremely noticeable. During a previous competition at the Paris Games, Biles received enthusiastic support from various famous celebrities in the audience, such as Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Tom Cruise, and Snoop Dogg. On Saturday, her name was shouted by thousands of fans as well.
On the other hand, the neutrals only showed polite appreciation towards An. No one else in the room was from her country because regular North Koreans are not allowed to travel abroad.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), it is improbable that viewers at home in North Korea were watching the Games live on television. BBC Monitoring has discovered only a few written reports in the closely regulated state media.
However, the residents of Pyongyang will definitely find out the Olympic results as they happen, according to John Everard, who served as the UK’s ambassador to North Korea from 2006 to 2008.
One of 16 North Korean athletes has arrived in a luxurious host city, which is a stark contrast to the austere Pyongyang airport where they were seen departing from last month.
Everard stated that top North Korean athletes probably had some knowledge of the world beyond their country, yet he believed there was a potential for them to be surprised by certain aspects.
A standout moment of the Games was when a South Korean table-tennis player, who won bronze, snapped a selfie with his mixed-doubles partner and the silver-winning North Korean duo.
Did the leadership in Pyongyang expect – or enjoy – this short-lived show of solidarity between two nations still officially in a state of war?
According to Prof Pachedo Pardo, accepting the selfie was a signal from North Korea, indicating that Pyongyang likely approved of the decision. North Korea is suggesting that its issue is not with the people of South Korea, but rather with the government of South Korea.
In any case, the event was not completely surprising, following a similar occurrence in 2016. Two years later, a combined women’s ice hockey team from North and South participated in the Winter Games in the South.
The selfie is one of the few ways the North interacts visibly with the outside world during the Games, along with a quick press conference from the two table-tennis stars.
Unverified video footage has surfaced allegedly showing An outside of the stadiums, holding a set of pin-badges that are said to be widely exchanged among international gymnasts.
Following extensive exposure to the Western world, the athletes will likely go through a rigorous debrief upon returning home to make sure they maintain their message, stated Lee, who also co-hosts the Lazarus Heist podcast on BBC World Service.
Despite the myth, analysts agreed that any athlete considered to have “failed” would likely not face punishment. However, they may be subjected to taxing “self-criticism” sessions.
Everard stated that the significant loss from not winning a medal is not the punishment, but rather the missed opportunity to gain all the potential benefits. Successful sports players can be elevated to a higher social standing and rewarded with prizes like a new house.
It is yet unknown if this recent sports diplomacy will result in substantial new discussions between North and South Korea. The initial harmony in Paris was momentarily threatened by a controversy when organizers confused the names of the two countries during the opening ceremony, causing them to issue an apology.
After the gymnastics event on Saturday at the Bercy Arena, a supporter from Seoul was skeptical about the potential changes in politics.
However, she mentioned that the sight of athletes standing on a stage served as a reminder that all Koreans were connected by something “human”.
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