The 2020 Olympics were played in 2021, which should convey everything anyone needs to know about that strange time period. Nelly Korda won the gold medal in women's golf for the United States, but with COVID-19 protocol in place and everyone at the Olympic Games fairly locked down, it was about as odd of a gold medal experience as anyone has ever had.
Korda is back in Paris this week, and a lot has happened since those Olympic Games in Japan. She has won eight times since, including another major championship, and ripped off five in a row earlier this year. She is a more complete golfer than she was three years ago.
A lot has happened with the Olympics, too. Fans have congregated in Paris and even surprised several of the men competing last week in the golf who did not expect such vivacious French crowds. This is unusual for Olympics golf. Tokyo had almost no crowds and the Rio 2016 crowds were fairly small. But then, the entire Olympic experience, for everyone, seems much different than it did in Tokyo.
"It's been three years, and as you said, it's a different country, different venue," said Korda. "Doesn't really feel like I'm defending, really. So I'm just going to go out, enjoy the experience. Hopefully enjoy the fans.
"The men had amazing fans out here. I was wowed by how many people are out here watching and just happy that I'm back in this position. I'm here representing my country. I'm a two-time Olympian and I'm living out my dream."
One thing hasn't changed. Just like she was in 2021 when she won the gold medal in red, white and blue, Korda is still the No. 1 player in the world. She is the huge favorite and the one to watch as the women tee it up on Wednesday this week.
Following her insane run earlier in which she won five in a row and six of seven events, Korda has struggled. She has missed three of four cuts and finished T26 in the other event she played. That's golf.
"Hopefully trending in the right direction," said Korda. "I took some time off after Evian and kind of put my clubs to the side for a week, and then grinded for two weeks. I have [coach] Jamie [Mulligan] out here with me this week, and he's always really nice to be around and keeps it super light.
"You know, the game of golf of is a funny game. Sometimes you feel on top of the world, and in a matter of a couple seconds, you just feel like you're on the bottom of the sea. So it definitely makes you appreciate the good golf that you play, but yeah, I mean, you have to have a mix of everything in there and everything can't always go well."
Despite all of that, Korda is excited about the experience of being back at the Olympics. Her mother, Regina, competed in the 1988 Olympics as a tennis player. Nelly said there's a running joke in the family that the girls are Olympians, but the boys -- father Petr won the Australian Open in tennis and brother Sebastian is a professional tennis player -- are not.
"We watched it a lot, every two years, even the winter Olympics, that's something we all did as a family," said Nelly. "We sat in front of the TV and watched everyone compete and live out their dreams. And to be able to do that myself and be an Olympian and never thought that I would, you know, back in the day, before golf was a [Olympic] sport.
"But being here on this stage has been such an amazing experience. Just there's nothing like representing your country, too, so getting to that do on the Olympic stage is a dream come true."
Korda has accomplished a lot as a pro. This week's dream, though, will be to do something nobody has done since golf returned to the Olympics in 2016: win multiple gold medals. Nine different men have medaled in golf in the last three Olympics, and Lydia Ko is the only woman to win multiple medals, but neither was gold.
And while the overall experience of these Olympics might be quite different for Korda, a gold medal hanging around her neck would be a familiar feeling.
