By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Figure skating star Kim Yu-na has one of the largest and most exuberant fan bases among sports celebrities in South Korea.
The 19-year-old has always received an enthusiastic boost from her domestic aficionados.
But now, Kim is asking her fans to tone it down a bit, at least while she's competing and says she understands why some Korean athletes don't like competing on home soil.
"Ahead of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, I experienced three big events in the past year. They included both my best and worst performances. (The best moment was when) I won the world champion title,'' Kim told reporters Sunday in Tokyo.
She triumphed at the World Championships in Los Angeles in March and also claimed her third World Grand Prix Final title Saturday in Japan.
"(My toughest event was) last season' Grand Prix Final held in Goyang (Gyeonggi Province.)''
Kim scored 186.35 total, failing to win her third straight title at the competition, placing second to winner Mao Asada of Japan.
She added: "I was concerned because it was my first international contest in Korea."
"Especially, I was confused when I saw the way the audience reacted and the way they behaved. Just before I was about to jump, I could still hear them making noise. During the six-minute warm-up, I just wanted it to end, it was too much. So I thought about withdrawing."
Before Kim emerged as a world-class figure skater, there were few competitive skaters from Korea and interest in the sport here was low. Now, she's a star with hordes of fans. But she says she does not get an advantage from competing on home soil ― quite the opposite, in fact.
"I agree with weightlifter (Jang Mi-ran) who said 'I hope Korea does not host the World Championships again.'"
After claiming her fourth straight world title last month in Goyang, Jang said competing at home put far too much pressure on her.
"Those who are not familiar with figure skating sometimes clap at the wrong time, which makes me perplexed,'' she said.
"Figure skating is a spectator sport, but not one that needs much cheering. If they continue rooting for me like that, how can they watch my performance? I want them to focus on me.''
Kim has had a brilliant career since joining the senior ranks in 2006. She has won all the major events she has competed in ― the World Championships, Grand Prix Final and Four Continents Championships ― at least once.
All that's left for her to accomplish is a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
She is seen as the clear favorite to win in Vancouver in February.
She would become the first South Korean athlete to win a gold medal in a sport other than short track speed skating.
Kim said: "It is kind of tough to maintain my conditioning. Above all, I want to make sure I'm in good shape to compete."
"Whenever I perform well in a competition, I say to myself 'this should have been the Olympics,'" she added with a laugh.
"I really want to see the words 'Kim Olympic Champion' in the news."