Olympic Golfer Channeling Inner Simone Biles in Quest to Make History

U.S. gymnast Simone Biles left the 2024 Paris Olympics with three gold medals, but she may play a part in one more gold-medal win.

After winning bronze at the Tokyo Games and silver at the Rio Games, New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko is searching to complete the set with a gold medal in Paris. She currently sits atop the leaderboard heading into Saturday’s final round.

While Ko has always been ambitious (she won her first LPGA Tour title at 15 and was the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer by the time she was 17), it’s actually Biles and her appearance in the Netflix docuseries “Simone Biles Rising” that inspired her to chase the medal trifecta.

“I loved a few of the quotes so much that I’ve written them in my yardage book,” Ko told Yahoo Sports . “The one that has most stuck with me was, ‘I get to write my own ending.’ Sometimes we get carried on about things that we can’t control, and if I can do a good job of the things that I can control, you know, the rest is out of my hands.

“I’ve always said I want to be the one that’s determining my fate and it to hear literally the greatest of all time as a gymnast, and maybe potentially one of the best athletes of all time, say it in her story is very inspiring.”

There’s quite a bit of history riding on Ko’s final round.

A win and she’ll become the first women’s golfer to win three Olympic medals and the first with a complete set (gold, silver, bronze), and it would also automatically put her into the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Twenty-seven points are needed to be eligible for LPGA HOF enshrinement, and Ko is just one point away. Winning an Olympic gold would give her the point she needs.

Related: Simone Biles Reveals What She Learned From Each Of Her Olympic Performances

Related: Gymnastics Legend Nastia Liukin Makes It Crystal Clear How She Feels About Simone Biles