[The Spin]Skating star Kim cuts a new deal
Kim Yu-na
Her mother, Park Mi-hee, last week abruptly informed IMG Korea that she was moving her daughter to IB Sports, because IMG failed to line up enough endorsement deals for her daughter. IMG is considering a lawsuit because Park called off the deal without prior notice. There were three years left on the contract, and the new deal with IB Sports is for three years.
It’d be easy to go all Pink Floyd on the adults involved and yell, “Leave the kid alone!” But I donit think there’s anything wrong with Kim’s mom for trying to look after her child and capitalize on Kim’s success while she can.
This is not to say parents should live vicariously through their children’s success, be they athletes or musicians. There is no question, however, that teenage athletes should be free of monetary concerns to concentrate on their sport.
And herein lies the real issue. Park wanted her daughter to be able to focus on her double salchows and triple lutzes without worrying about how much it would cost to sleep in a comfortable bed, or travel first class so that she can rest her ailing back.
Can you really blame Park for trying to take care of her daughter?
O.K., so Yu-na has earned an estimated 600 million won ($645,000) from the sole endorsement deal she has with a bank, tournament purses, and grants from the Korea Skating Union. There’s only so much financial protection you can give to a kid already earning that much.
On the other hand, Kim’s family has paid for all her overseas travel for competition and practice since she was a third grader. Park told the Ilgan Sports last December that it had cost the family around 80 million won a year to train Kim.
Kim is scheduled to fly to Canada for more training in May. Her parents had been concerned about the costs until they reached the deal with IB Sports, which said it would cover all travel expenses for Kim for the duration of the contract.
Come to think of it, perhaps there was a financial reason Kim appeared in all those glossy photos for fashion magazines just days before the new contract was reached.
Also, if you’ve followed figure skating over the last decade or so, you’d find another reason that Kim’s parents appear hell-bent on securing endorsement deals.
A figure skater’s career is shorter than the length of the blades on their skates. Kim last year became the first Korean to win a senior figure skating title, but she will have to wait until 2010 to have a crack at the Winter Olympics. She will be 20 years old by then, and another four years older at the next Winter Games.
Of the last five Winter Olympic gold medalists in women’s figure skating, only the then 25-year-old Japanese Shizuka Arakawa, the 2006 winner, was older than 20. American Tara Lipinski was all of 15 when she won the gold in 1998.
The physical toll that skaters take might be one reason: yes, figure skaters are usually petit, but they constantly put their entire weight on a blade that’s about two-tenths of an inch thick.
Whatever the reason, it’s important to ensure that Kim can practice under the best conditions possible so that she can compete to her abilities. Given how much pressure we put on her to win title after title, the least we can do is let the adults fight over legal matters.
After all, the whole point of this fuss was to help Kim focus on figure skating, right?
“The Spin” appears Mondays and Fridays in the JoongAng Daily.
By Yoo Jee-ho Staff Writer [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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