BUSAN, Republic of Korea — With baseball the number one spectator sport in Korea, the organisers of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang have selected baseball star Shin-Soo Choo to run with the Olympic Torch on 4 November, as the flame passes through Busan.
The current Major League Baseball outfielder with the Texas Rangers began his rise to stardom leading Korea to the world title at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2000, for which he earned Most Valuable Player honours.
Choo played for silver-winning Korea at the 2009 World Baseball Classic and helped Korea earn the gold medal in baseball at the 2010 Asian Games.
“Choo’s involvement with and promotion of the Winter Olympic Games PyeongChang 2018 is another clear demonstration of how baseball and softball can bring synergies and add great value to the Olympic Movement,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.
In 2014, Choo was added to the list of high-profile PyeongChang 2018 Honorary Ambassadors, which also includes 2008 Olympic baseball gold medalist and Los Angeles Dodger Hyun-jin Ryu.
Korea is currently ranked third in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings Presented by ENEOS.
