After an eight year performance lull, Lydia Ko is on top of the golfing world again. It's a remarkable feat for the former child prodigy who still has a love of the game
New Zealand's gold medallist Lydia Ko celebrates on the podium after the women's golf event at the Paris Olympics. Photo: AFP/PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU
She calls it her "Cinderella moment" and her "fairytale fortnight" but to win Olympic gold and the British Open golf title, Lydia Ko had to deal with and overcome her "worst ever" golf season.
And the 27-year-old admits it was hard to come back from that 2023 low.
Today on The Detail we look at how sporting stars ride the lulls, the performance dips, the emotional lows, to get back on top.
It's taken Ko eight long years to win another title, but the $2 million prize money won't be her only motivation.
Dr Kylie Wilson, a performance mind set coach at High Performance Sports NZ, was at the Olympics in Paris. She was impressed with Ko's mental and physical performance, on the green and in front of cameras.
"She's been on the circuit for a long time, it's a really good grounding exercise for how you show up to media versus how you show up to yourself or your tight support team," she says. "She seems to be enjoying her golf and is showing a lot of emotion and passion for the game she has crafted over a long time, it's been awesome to watch."
On the podcast Wilson talks about what top athletes have in common that drives them to succeed.
Former Black Cap star Mark Richardson, a golf convert with a handicap of five and long-time Lydia Ko fan, tells The Detail that overcoming slumps and sporting lulls is tough.
"The worst thing that can creep in is self-doubt," he says. "I'm sure Lydia has had some self-doubt and questioning how long she's going to play the game for.
"But I think what gets anyone through this is the love for the game and still wanting the win when you have your day. And you look forward to that day.
"Once you believe you can't do it, don't want to do the work, or it becomes a grind, you won't come back from that slump. That's what happened to me at the end of the day."
Ko says her recent post-slump wins haven't changed her thoughts on retirement.
"I know for a fact I'm probably never playing past 30," she told RNZ's First Up. "And you know what has happened in the last few weeks doesn't change the timeline of things."
Ko still has several months of golf left to see out this season, then she hopes to return to New Zealand for a visit.
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