Yu-na heads to Lausanne for presentation

By Yoon Chul

Figure skating star Kim Yu-na has left for Lausanne, Switzerland, to appear at the IOC Technical Briefing, Sunday.

Kim will make a presentation in front of all IOC members, who will vote for the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Durban, South Africa on July 6.

“Honestly I am a little worried,” Kim said. “As I spent lots of time to prepare for the world championships I didn’t have much time to prepare well for this.”

“First of all I will speak on PyeongChang’s perfect preparation. I will emphasize the short distance to the venues which will be hugely convenient for the athletes,” Kim said.

PyeongChang is challenging to hold the 2018 Winter Games against Munich of Germany and Annecy of France, and has been praised by the IOC Evaluation Commission thanks to its compact setting.

The PyeongChang bid committee has plans for two venue clusters for the Games but all of them can be reached within 30 minutes by bus from the center of the main cluster. It will only take five minutes for athletes to reach venues from their accommodation.

“I will also explain that it’s been long time since the Winter Games were in Asia and highlight that PyeongChang’s bid is supported by the citizens the most among candidate cities,” Kim said.