‘Queen Yu-na’ is lauded for her majestic talent
Kim Yu-na performs her free skating en route to capturing the world championship in Los Angeles yesterday.
In winning her first career world title, Kim also won over some fans in the foreign media.
The Associated Press dispatched a story headlined, “Queen Yu-na, indeed!” and said the world championship “was more coronation than competition.”
Describing Kim’s skating style, the story read, “Kim skates with ease and lightness, seeming almost to fly across the ice, but has incredible power and strength. While other skaters slow down as they approach their jumps, trying to steady themselves, she goes full speed ahead. Yet she lands as if she’s touching down on a pillow.”
Kim Yu-na is flanked by silver medalist Joannie Rochette of Canada, left, and the bronze medal winner Miki Ando of Japan, right. [YONHAP]
The Los Angeles Times noted that Kim has “no rivals but the standard of excellence she has set.” The Times’ columnist, Helene Elliott, wrote a gushing piece titled, “Kim’s performance is a thing of beauty.” She argued that Olympic hopefuls in the U.S. should be required to watch’s Kim’s free skating from yesterday, so that they “can learn something from Kim’s seamless meshing of difficult jumps and intricate spins.”
Elliott also wrote that American skaters “are incredibly far from matching what the 18-year-old South Korean achieved” and added they’re unlikely to win a medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics next February.
But amid these accolades, Kim, who rarely shows excitement off the ice and is prone to well-worn cliches in interviews, was her usual, unruffled self, stopping short of giving herself a pat on the back.
“I was well prepared for this championship and it served as a good practice before the Olympics,” she said.
“I’ve been able to stay healthy this season. I was confident but not nervous, and I was as relaxed as I would be in practice.”
Rather than soaking in glory, Kim even took time to discuss her minor mistakes - her single rotation on a triple-salchow attempt and zero points on her final combination spin for her failure to fulfill requirements.
“I learned my lessons,” she said. “I changed a spin after Four Continents last month. I should have double checked before my program. I won’t make the same mistake again.”
By Yoo Jee-ho [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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