Lydia Ko competes in the women’s individual golf tournament at the Paris Olympics.
Photograph: Info / www.photosport.nz

New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko says she has nothing to lose tonight as she chases her third consecutive Olympic medal.

Ko took the joint lead after the fourth round and caught Swiss pacesetter Morgane Metraux for a tense final round at Le Golf National south of Paris. American Rose Zhang and Japanese Miyu Yamashita shared third place on seven under par.

Ko, who completed her Olympic series by winning the gold medal in Paris, continued her consistency by completing the penultimate round with a par nine.

Ko won a silver medal in Rio in 2016 and a bronze medal in Tokyo three years ago. The 27-year-old had the Olympic rings tattooed on her right bicep a few years ago to celebrate her success at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Winning gold in Paris will mean she will become the sixth New Zealander to win a medal of any colour at the Summer Olympics.

“Yes, if I win gold here it would be a Cinderella story,” Ko told RNZ a few days ago.

Metraux is making her first Olympic appearance after opting not to travel to Tokyo three years ago to secure a place on the prestigious LPGA tour, which paved the way for her sister Kim to represent Switzerland.

Ko, for her part, has competed in every Olympic golf event since the sport returned to the Games in Rio.

Lydia Ko wins silver in Rio.
Photograph: Photosport

Does Ko think her previous Olympic experience will come into play in the final round?

“All things aside, it’s pretty cool to be in the final group in all three Olympics I’ve played in. I hadn’t actually thought about it until a few days ago. It’s like a wish list that’s been checked off.

“I feel like I have nothing to lose with two medals under my belt. I know I will do my best and give my 100 percent. If it’s meant to be, it will be,” Ko said.

Ko knows she is in a unique position heading into the final round.

“The Olympics don’t happen every day, or even every year, so it’s great to be in a position like this and I’m excited to embrace it all.

“I know standing on the podium is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime feeling. I’d love to feel it again tomorrow, but I still have 18 very tough holes to go, so I’ll just focus on that and see where it takes me.”

Ko said he doesn’t normally follow the leaderboard closely, but this was inevitable.

“Everywhere I turn there’s a leaderboard. I mean, it’s really hard not to look when there’s names out there. Sometimes, I think it’s important because you have to know where you are, what you have to do. And I think these last few holes can create a lot of drama…a lot can change, so in some ways it’s good to look at, but I’ve done really well just focusing on myself and sticking to my strategy.”

US gymnastics champion Simone Biles.
Photograph: AFP / Kaname Muto

Ko revealed that she was inspired by American gymnastics star Simone Biles after watching a documentary on Netflix a few days ago that chronicled Biles’ struggles.

“I just downloaded it and I’ve basically been off social media. I just deleted my Instagram app for a week because I didn’t want to be distracted by other things. Honestly, it shows how much time I spend on Instagram, I was like, ‘Oh, what am I going to do?’ So I watched her documentary.” RisingIt was very inspiring.

“As an outsider, we never know what the person is going through. The fact that she’s so vulnerable inspires a lot of people. And it inspired me too. I loved a few of the quotes she said, so I wrote them down in my meter book.”

Ko said one quote stands out for him.

“One of the things he said was, ‘I can write my own ending.’ Sometimes we go too far with the things we can’t control. And if I can do a good job with the things I can control, the rest is out of my hands.

“I always say: ‘I want to be the one who determines my destiny, my ending, and how I end my career, my tour.’ That (quote) felt very good to me.”

Biles left Paris a few days ago with three gold medals and a silver medal, making her undoubtedly the best gymnast of her generation.

“If everything goes the way I imagine or dream tomorrow, that would be a perfect quote to say that too. But on this golf course, it doesn’t matter if you’re four, five or six strokes behind, you can potentially be in it,” Ko said.

The final round will start at 19:00 on Saturday.