Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
The 'Queen' states her case
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Figure skater Kim Yu-na performs to “Send in the Clowns” in the short program competition at the Sochi Winter Olympics at the Iceberg Skating Palace, Thursday (KST). Kim finished first with 74.92 points. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Kim tops short program, enters free skate as gold favorite
By Jung Min-ho
Kim Yu-na, the Korean figure-skating superstar referred to by her legion of fans simply as "Queen,’’ is determined to retire with her figure skating crown intact.
Kim, 23, topped the women’s short program in the wee hours of Thursday morning (KST) after scoring 74.92 points at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi with a splendid display of skill that reminded observers of her historic performance in Vancouver four years ago.
It represented the highest score in the short program for a female skater this season and cemented Kim’s status as the gold-medal favorite ahead of Friday’s free skate.
Kim, however, has competition. Adelina Sotnikova of Russia was a close runner-up after the short program with 74.64 points, followed by Carolina Kostner of Italy, who always seems to be a medal contender, with 74.12 points.
Skating to “Send in the Clowns,” Kim cleanly executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double axel just like she did in Vancouver. The jumps were flawless but there was a slight error in her footwork for which the judges gave her only a level 3 on a scale of four.
She earned 35.89 points in the program component score, which rates skating skills, transitions and choreography, and earned 39.03 points in the technical element score.
Kim is famous for her composure. But in Sochi, which Kim has already declared as her retirement stage, the defending Olympic champion has admitted feeling the pressure.
Talking to reporters after the short program, Kim said it was anxiety that caused the slightest blemishes on her near-perfect performance.
“For some reason, I was so nervous and I couldn't really move my legs in the warm-up,” she said. “I had very little confidence and I kept telling myself I need to take this like any other practice.”
Just before the competition, there indeed seemed to be a sense of uneasiness in her expression. And it was blown away as soon as she nailed the first jump.
“I was worried about my first jump, and once I did it, I was relieved,” she said.
Then, she started skating more to the music, with concerns about mistakes slowly fading. After successfully landing her double axel, she cracked a smile. Every move she made was perfectly matched with music as if she was part of it. The audience again saw the pure elegance coming out of her performance.
When she closed out her program with a smile, the crowd erupted in applause.
The competition was an intense battle of handling pressure among top contenders. And some of them, including Yulia Lipnitskaya of Russia and Mao Asada of Japan, crumbled under it.
Lipnitskaya, who helped her country win the inaugural team competition last week, looked confident before she took the ice. With the crowd chanting her name getting louder as her turn neared, the usually stoic 15-year-old appeared nervous.
She cleanly executed her triple lutz-triple toe loop combination but crashed on the triple flip that she rarely misses. She eventually scored 65.23 points for fifth place.
Asada, Kim’s long-time rival, couldn’t deliver any of her jumps in a perfect manner, destroying her chance to win the gold, and fell to 16th.
Sotnikova, 17, delivered her best to save the day for Russia, replacing Lipnitskaya as the country’s biggest hope for a golden finish.
Kostner, 27, a five-time European champion, also remains in close contention.
The competition wasn’t about winning a medal, but some skaters certainly lost their chance to win one on Friday.
Kim’s lead is just 0.28 points, with another skater just 0.80 behind. But it still means she is more favored to win the gold than yesterday.
Her biggest strength is the fact that she rarely makes an error. Even if she does, she will likely do well in other areas to make it up, which makes her a very difficult champ to beat.
After the short program, the top three separated themselves from everyone else. Gracie Gold, ranked fourth, is leading the pack with 68.63 points.
In their Olympic debut, Korea’s Kim Hae-jin and Park So-yeon scored 54.37 points and 49.14 points respectively and will perform in the free skate, where Kim will go last.