Shooting sensation Kim Ye-ji named among BBC's 100 women of 2024

SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Yonhap) -- Kim Ye-ji, an Olympic shooting silver medalist who went viral during the Paris Summer Games, has been included on the BBC's list of the 100 most influential and inspirational women this year.

The British broadcaster announced its annual list of remarkable women Tuesday under the theme of "resilience" this year, which also included fellow South Korean Park Soo-bin, founder of Stair Crusher Club, a project on wheelchair accessibility.

"Charisma and sporting achievements brought Kim Ye-ji to the world's attention this year," BBC said.

"The pistol shooter won silver in the women's 10 meter air pistol at her first Olympics in July, having set the women's 25 meter pistol world record only a few months earlier," it added.

The British broadcaster also said videos "praising not only her skills, but also her ice cool demeanor, unbreakable concentration and sci-fi-inspired look with bespoke glasses to help with precision" went viral on social media.

Kim is taking a break from shooting to spend time with her six-year-old daughter, it added.

"Through sports, we demonstrate resilience, teamwork, and determination -- values that, in my opinion, extend far beyond the playing field to inspire broader societal change," Kim was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Kim won the silver medal in the women's 10-meter air pistol event at the Paris Olympics in July and rose to global stardom thanks to a highlight clip from an earlier competition.

She received greater international attention after Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, wrote: "She should be cast in an action movie. No acting required!"

BBC also praised Stair Crusher Club's Park for her nonprofit project, describing it as an initiative that "collects information on wheelchair-unfriendly routes and places with no step-free access in South Korea."