Nelly Korda looking to bring second golf Olympic gold medal to Bradenton from 2024 Paris Games
It was on the Olympic podium, as Korda received the gold medal, that her heart rate registered the highest that day. The rush of emotion she felt as she listened to the national anthem and watched the American flag rise was unlike anything she’d ever experienced.
“That’s when I realized that, ‘Wow, I just won an Olympic gold medal, and everyone I watched on TV get to stand on the podium, that’s what I’m doing right now,’” the Bradenton native recalled at the recent Amundi Evian Championship in France.
Korda, 25, carried the medal around in a sock in those early weeks, tucked away in her travel backpack. Each time she went through airport security, she pleaded with them not to scratch it. The medal now resides in her office on a shelf with her badge from the week in Tokyo, along with a plaque of the Olympic rings, made by a veteran caddie on tour, and pins that she traded with other athletes. “My majors are on one shelf,” she said, “and then the Olympics has its own shelf too.”
As the 2024 Olympics Games begin in Paris on Friday with the opening ceremony, Korda continues a three-week break from the LPGA. She headed to Croatia after the Evian to spend time with her best friend, whose September wedding she’ll miss due to the Solheim Cup.
Then it was back to Olympic prep before making her way to Le Golf National to watch the conclusion of the men’s tournament. The men will compete Aug. 1-4 on the Albatros course, with the women’s event held on the same venue from Aug. 7-10.
In many ways, it feels like ages ago that Korda went wire-to-wire in her hometown at the Drive On Championship in Bradenton. The thrilling playoff victory against Lydia Ko at Bradenton Country Club kickstarted a record season on the LPGA Tour. The World No. 1 won five consecutive events and six of her first eight starts to the season.
She was downright unstoppable, winning in every type of manner in every type of condition, including her second career major at the Chevron Championship. She even broke through the golf bubble and into the mainstream with her dazzling appearance at the Met Gala in Oscar de la Renta.
