1st global event at home for Kim Yu-na
Figure skater Kim Yu-na arrived in Korea yesterday to compete in the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final this week.[YONHAP]
But if she’s feeling the pressure, Kim wasn’t showing it yesterday.
The two-time defending Grand Prix Final champion landed in Korea around 4 a.m. yesterday, and to her surprise, hundreds of eager fans and journalists surrounded her at the gate at the Incheon International Airport.
Wearing a sheepish grin, Kim joked that she had scheduled an early landing from her training base in Toronto to avoid the crowd here. She then went on to say she is looking forward to skating before the home fans.
“I know the local fans will have high expectations,” Kim said. “But their presence will be a huge boost for my confidence. I want to meet those expectations.
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel pressure skating in Korea,” Kim added. “But I’ve competed before big crowds before. I’ll be fine.”
Kim is one of the most iconic sports stars in Korea. Tickets for the Grand Prix Final were sold out within minutes of going on sale online, and Kim’s ice show scheduled for after the final has also been sold out. Her endorsements include, among others, a bank, a dairy company, a bakery that makes a pastry bearing her name, and an accessory maker that sells skate-shaped earrings.
But spending most of the year away from home, Kim said, “I don’t get the sense of how popular I really am here. I hardly get to watch my own TV commercials.”
Kim added to her status as Korea’s darling of figure skating by grabbing Skate America and Cup of China titles on the Grand Prix season, both by comfortable margins.
Skaters are each assigned to two of six Grand Prix events, and top six skaters in the points standings compete in the Grand Prix Final.
Kim topped six female skaters this year, and she looks to become only the second woman to win three straight Grand Prix Finals: Irina Slutskaya of Russia was the first to do so from 2000 to 2002.
Kim’s last competitive event was at the Cup of China in the first week of November. She admitted she was “quite exhausted” after that and returned to Toronto to first get her strength back and then to work on minimizing mistakes in her programs.
“I had satisfactory results at the last two Grand Prix events and I am going to skate with confidence this week,” Kim said. “There will be a lot of great skaters. But I’ve got to stay focused on my own performance.”
One intriguing story line heading into the final is Kim’s showdown against Mao Asada of Japan, the reigning world champion.
But Kim downplayed the rivalry between the two athletes, saying, “There are other great skaters aside from Asada. Everyone is just the same competition to me as far as I am concerned.”
Kim has one ultimate goal for the 2008-09 season - finishing it with her health intact.
“Over the past two, three years, I was bothered by all the injuries, but I’ve learned from the experience, too,” Kim said of her nagging hip and back problems.
“I’ve learned how to prevent injuries in the first place. Hopefully, I can complete this season without getting hurt.”
By Yoo Jee-ho Staff Reporter [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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