Kim’s gesture gives Poe a chance in the Games

Sydney: If Olympic medals were awarded for sportsmanship, Esther Kim would win a gold. The 20-year-old taekwondo fighter from Texas gave up her Olympic slot to her best friend, and in doing so has shown that an Olympic movement tainted by doping scandals and corruption still has a heart.

Back in May, top seeded Kay Poe crunched her knee in a qualifyinground-robin bout. Poe and Kim were due to square off to decide which of them would go to Sydney. Ice packs failed to reduce the swelling and Poe was sprawled on the floor in tears.

Kim knew that if she fought her buddy there was a good chance the knee might buckle, and at age 18 Poe's career could be shattered. So, she pulled out of the bout, handing her almost certain Olympic place to Poe.

The decision ''came in a heartbeat'', Kim told reporters on Monday. ''For the first time in my life I felt like a champion.'' To sports fans desperate to believe the Olympics is more than winning at any cost, more than bulked-up muscle and big business, the pony-tailed Kim offers a bright ray of hope.

The International Olympic Committee has embraced her as a hero and its president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, personally invited her and her family to Sydney, where committee members gave her a standing ovation at a reception.

Dark-haired Kim and blonde Poe have been inseparable for a decade ever since they met at a halloween party. Kim's father, Jin-Won, coaches them both in the ancient Korean martial art, which is making its first appearance in Sydney as a full medal sport. ''We've always been like sisters,'' Poe said.



(c) Reuters Limited.