When the flawless, four-minute performance was over, Kim Yu-na shed tears, causing many of her compatriots to do the same. If Kim's tears came out of an uncontrollable sense of accomplishment and relief, those of her Korean fans reflected their gratitude and apologetic feeling ― for having burdened the young lady with so much expectation.
It was this victory over her inner self by overcoming the unimaginable sense of pressure that made Kim's winning of gold medal in figure skating ― the first medal of any color ever for Korea ― in Vancouver Olympics Friday all the more significant.
As the global audience watched her breathtaking free skate, there would be no upset among the skaters but one between Kim and the sport, as the Korean skater set a new world record by a wide margin, which experts say will not be easily broken in the near future.
All this shows that this seemingly fragile, slender woman is not just one of the all-time greatest in the sport but a very strong individual, whom her legendary predecessors praised with such superlatives as, ``Every time she takes a breath, I think she collects points" (Scott Hamilton), and ``Kim is what the judges are looking for when it comes to jumps, spins and edges" (Michelle Kwan).
Kim's brilliant performance might as well sit her on the MVP chair of the ongoing Winter Games, if she proves to be the only athlete to set a world record in it.
Not least because the fierce competition with her rivals, including Mao Asada of Japan, contributed greatly to Kim's record, praise should also go to the Japanese silver medalist, and Canada's Joannie Rochette, who won a bronze despite having to cope with her mother's death only last week, as the trio lifted the overall level of the sport by several notches.
As any success story tells us, however, Kim's triumph hasn't come easily. Since she first put on skates at the age of 7, it took 13 years of hard struggle to reach the top, during which she considered quitting at least a few times because of injuries, slow progress and even financial problems on the part of her parents. All through the year she was only able to visit the two rinks available, in a country where the tradition of figure skating had almost been non-existent.
So it should be considered the fruit of her talent and perseverance, as well as the dedication of her equally tenacious mother and her Canadian coach Brian Orser, reaffirming the time-honored formula for success: individual talent combined with effort and support from others.
Even before this Olympics, Kim was the queen of the sport but the Games showed she had all the qualifications for the formal coronation, which requires not just ability and guts but some good luck. Now it is time for her fans and country, in which she has gone from just a star to a syndrome, to leave her alone to be herself.
Kim is certain to become an even greater skater if she wants and tries, but that will be possible only when Koreans see her mainly in skating rinks, not on TV shows and commercials all but 24 hours a day.