Lydia Ko is no stranger to Olympic medals. Now 27 years old, Ko won silver in Rio de Janeiro, bronze in Tokyo and gold in Paris. The win last year in Paris was especially significant for Ko, as it scored her the final point she needed to qualify for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. The hall is one of the most difficult to gain entry to in sports and Ko has become the youngest to ever qualify. It makes sense, then, that she’d want to commemorate the moment.
In a story on Olympics.com, Ko said she went to tattoo artist Playground Tattoo in Korea, who did her Olympic rings tattoo in 2016. In the story, Ko says the tattoo artist proposed a skyline tattoo featuring the three locations where she won her medals. They landed on Christ the Redeemer for Rio de Janeiro, Mount Fuji for Tokyo and the Eiffel Tower for Paris.
Depending on which medal she won, the landmark is proportioned to match, Ko explained. So you’ll notice, the Eiffel Tower is the largest because that is where Ko won gold. Ko got her first tattoo when she was 16 years old after winning her first LPGA Tour event. The Roman numerals on her right wrist spell out the date of the win.
Over the years golfers have displayed a variety of tattoos – from Max Homa’s “Relentless” tattoo to Tyler McCumber’s underwater scene on his arm. But Ko’s new Olympic tattoo is one of the most creative we’ve seen.
