Kim Yu-na, seen here in a file photo, is well into her preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics, now just a little over three months away.
/ Korea Times File |
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
The Olympic torch has arrived on Canadian soil and the countdown to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver is on. For world champion Kim Yu-na, the anticipation is getting stronger by the day.
"I thought that the Vancouver Winter Olympics are just around the corner after watching the beginning of the torch relay," Kim said through her agency, IB Sports, Tuesday.
The Games are only a little over three months away now, with the Olympiad set to open on Feb 12.
"The Vancouver Games give me a little bit more special meaning because they will take place in Canada, where I have trained."
The 19-year-old figure skater, who became the first woman to achieve an overall score of more than 200 points at the World Championships in March, has lived in Toronto and trained under two-time Olympian Brian Orser of Canada.
"I am preparing well technically and mentally for the Olympics with coach Orser."
She did not hide her excitement about the quadrennial contest.
"The Olympics are the stage which not only figure skaters but also all athletes have dreamed of participating in. Since watching Michelle Kwan perform at the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, I have wanted to become a skater," she said.
"And now, I am thrilled to compete in the event. I want to perform my best routine at the best stage."
Unlike in previous seasons, Kim appears to be head and shoulders above her rivals, such as Mao Asada of Japan and Joannie Rochette of Canada.
Kim made a big statement at the Trophee Bompard, the Grand Prix season opener, in Paris three weeks ago. The South Korean broke her own record with an overall score of 210.03 points and triumphed over Asada by a whopping 36.04-point margin.
But Kim is not letting herself get overconfident and believes the gap will close.
"We are still in the early season, so I think that they are not completely match-fit," she said.
"They are competitive skaters and it is still three months from the Olympics.
"I need to keep focused until the Games. I will concentrate on my program rather than on other skaters."
Kim is already seen as the overwhelming Olympic favorite. She hopes to bring home Korea's first gold medal at the Winter Olympics not won in short track speed skating.
"Many fans look forward to me winning an Olympic gold medal and I want to live up to the expectations.
"I will try to maintain what I have done well thus far up until the competition."
Kim, a two-time Grand Prix final champion, will compete at Skate America, the fifth event of the six-leg Grand Prix, in Lake Placid next week. She will be looking to win her seventh straight Grand Prix event.
ksw@koreatimes.co.kr
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