Elusive 200
Kim Yu-na Eyes Dream Mark at Torino Finale
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Figure skating sensation Kim Yu-na leaves spectators speechless with her effortless talent. Now, the 17-year-old skater is demanding herself to be peerless.
``If I do my best and reduce my mistakes, who knows if I can hit the 200-point mark,'' said Kim, who will be eyeing her second-consecutive title at the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix Finals, to be held from Dec. 14-16 in Torino, Italy.
Kim, who is expected to go head-to-head with rival Mao Asada of Japan, set a new personal best of 197.2 points in the Cup of Russia last month despite a wobbly landing on her triple lutz in the free skating program.
No female skater has ever broken the 200-point mark in a Grand Prix series or the World Championship event, and Kim said she would love to be the first.
``I am not in my best condition after the long flight and the time difference, but I am in good physical shape and health,'' said Kim, who trains in Toronto with former world and Canadian champion Brian Orser. The coach has been working with his star pupil to improve her quickness in spins and accuracy in steps.
``By reducing mistakes, and preventing those wrong moves from influencing the whole performance, I will be able to break the 200 mark,'' said Kim, who will be defending her Grand Prix Final title, won last year in the St. Petersburg event, when Asada was the silver medallist.
A crown in Torino would be a sensational season for Kim, who seems to have completed her transition from child prodigy to world-class athlete.
Kim, along with Asada, advanced to the finals with the maximum of 30 points after claiming gold medals in the Cup of China in Harbin and Cup of Russia in Moscow.
Kim displayed her immense talent in the Moscow event, posting a new personal best score of 133.70 points in her free skating program, which was the highest score any female skater has achieved so far. She opened with a triple flip-triple toe combination and executing all her moves perfectly before the shaky triple lutz, and recovered nicely from her mistake and delivered double axel late in her program.
The strong finish allowed her to finish with 197.20 points, which was more than enough to overcome her lackluster short program.