Nationals start with junior skaters
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Park Hyo-jin, left, and Paik Jong-ah perform during the junior women’s short program at the 2015 Korea Figure Skating Championships, Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Kwon Ji-youn
Perhaps the gap Kim Yu-na’s retirement has left in Korean figure skating is wider than most guessed it would be ― the Mokdong Ice Rink remained close to empty as the 2015 Korea Figure Skating Championship kicked off, Wednesday.
Junior skaters broke the ice Wednesday morning with short programs that featured a range of showy jumps and spins, but less than 30 spectators showed up. Competitors had to bow at a sea of green plastic chairs after performances. Senior competitions, which have received steady attention, have yet to take place.
Most of the spectators at the rink on Wednesday were mothers of daughters who skate themselves.
Im Sung-eun, 42, brought her 11-year-old daughter to the rink to watch her role models perform.
“My daughter just began taking skating lessons, and she wanted to see Park So-youn skate,” Lim said. “We’ll be here today, tomorrow and Friday, since she’s on winter break.”
Another mother, who asked to remain unnamed, said her daughter hopes to join the juniors on ice next year.
“My daughter has always dreamed of skating at the Olympics one day, and maybe even winning a gold medal,” she said. “She loves Kim Yu-na more than any idol singer.”
She added that most of the visitors who have been here since the beginning of the junior competition are young mothers who have brought their children to watch their role models perform in an actual competition.
“These young skaters all learn under a handful of coaches,” she said. “So we’re always here to cheer on our coach’s athletes. It’s all part of learning.”
As the mother of a skater who one day hopes to go pro, she said that it may be difficult to see another Kim Yu-na in the near future.
“Until recently, figure skating was not a popular sport, but competition has become fierce since Kim Yu-na put figure skating on the map,” she said. “I personally think all our skaters are technically capable. Practice makes perfect, after all. But artistically, there is some work to do. Skaters need to make their programs look effortless, graceful and stirring, and this doesn’t happen in a day.”
The women’s junior competition took up most of the program on Day 1.
Fifty-seven young women demonstrated their well-prepared short programs over seven hours. With a number of the Korea Skating Union (KSU) President Cup Ranking Competition’s junior high-rankers set to appear in the senior competition today and on Friday ― including winner Lim Eun-soo, third-place An So-hyun, and fifth-place You Young ― the junior competition has become a closed book. Results will be finalized after the free skate that takes place today.
Following the junior women’s short, the junior and senior men’s short program events unfolded, as more onlookers drizzled into the stadium.
Nine skaters appeared in the senior competition, and gold medal favorites Lee June-hyoung and Kim Jin-seo performed fifth and sixth, respectively.
The women’s senior short competition will take place today, as will the ice dance short and pair skating events. The KSU held try-outs last September to put together two teams for a pair skating exhibition competition.
Rivals Park So-youn and Kim Hae-jin are set to appear together in the last batch of six skaters. Kim will skate 32nd and Park will skate last. The junior free skate competitions will follow.
On the last day, both the men’s and women’s free skates will take place, and champions will be determined. Kim Yu-na will present the top three in each category with medals. A gala show will bring the championship to a close.