Kim Yu-Na Biography

Kim Yu-Na Biography

Kim Yu-Na (Hangul: 김연아, Hanja: 金姸兒) (born on September 5, 1990 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do) is a South Korean figure skater and the reigning world champion.

She is the 2009 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time (2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2009–2010) Grand Prix Final champion, the 2006 World Junior champion, the 2005-2006 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and a four-time (2002–2005) South Korean national champion.

Kim is the first South Korean figure skater who has medaled and won at ISU Junior Grand Prix series, the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, ISU Grand Prix series, the ISU Grand Prix Final, the ISU Four Continents Championships and the ISU World Championships. She is one of the most highly recognized athletes and media figures in South Korea.[1]

Kim is the record holder for ladies in the short program,[2] the free skating[3] and the combined total[4] under the ISU Judging System. Kim is the first female skater to surpass the 200-point mark[4] and also the first female skater to receive +2.20 grade of execution for jumps[5] under the ISU Judging System.

As of February 2010, she is ranked first in the world by the ISU.[6]

Personal life

Kim Yu-Na was born in 1990 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, and moved to Gunpo when she was 6 years old. She had to train mostly at night due to the lack of skating facilities for daytime training. In early 2007, she moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for better training under Brian Orser. In 2009, Kim enrolled at Korea University[7] as a freshman, but she has been continuing her training in Canada.

Early career

Kim Yu-Na began skating when she was seven years old with her older sister. Her coach at the time, Ryu Jong-Hyeon, who was impressed with Kim's exceptional talent, strongly suggested to Kim's mother that Kim should continue to skate, predicting that she would become a world-class figure skater in the future.[8]

In 2002, she competed internationally for the first time at the Triglav Trophy, where she won the gold medal for the novice competition.

In 2003, at age 12, she became the youngest woman to ever win the senior title at the South Korean Figure Skating Championships. She won her second international competition at the Golden Bear of Zagreb, a novice competition.

In 2004, she became the South Korean senior national champion for the second time in her career.

2004-2005 season

In the 2004–2005 season, as a junior skater, she competed at the ISU Junior Grand Prix, which is a junior complement to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.

She won a silver medal in China and a gold medal in Hungary. She won a silver medal at the 2005 Junior Grand Prix Final with an overall score of 137.75 points, 30.80 behind gold medalist Mao Asada.

Kim won the senior national title on her way to the 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

At that competition, Kim won a silver medal again, earning 158.93 points, 20.31 points behind Mao Asada.

2005-2006 season

For the 2005–2006 season, Kim remained on the Junior Grands Prix. She was not old enough to compete at the 2006 Olympics, even if South Korea was granted a spot at the final qualifying competition, the 2005 Karl Schäfer Memorial. So, Kim remained on the 2005-2006 Junior Grand Prix and won both of her competitions, that were held in Bulgaria and Slovakia, to qualify for the 2006 Junior Grand Prix Final.

She won the Junior Grand Prix Final with a score that was 28.34 points ahead of silver medalist Aki Sawada. At the free skating, Kim landed seven triple jumps, including a triple flip - triple toe loop combination and a double axel - triple toe loop combination.

Kim won her fourth senior national title.

At the 2006 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, she competed against the defending champion Mao Asada. Kim won the gold medal scoring 177.54 points overall, with a 24.19-point margin of victory over Asada.

In the 2006-2007 season, Kim made her senior international debut at 2006 Skate Canada where she won a bronze medal after being placed first at the short program and fourth in the free skate program with a total overall score of 168.48 points. She won the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard with a score of 184.54 points, 10.10 ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. Those performances qualified Kim for the Grand Prix Final for the first time.

At the 2006 Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg, Russia, Kim was placed third in the short program with 65.06 points and first in the long program with 119.14. She won the Grand Prix Final earning 184.20 points, by a margin of 11.68 ahead over silver medalist Mao Asada.

2006-2007 season

Kim wanted to defend her title at the 2006–2007 South Korean Championships, but was forced to withdraw due to an injury that she got before the event. In January 2007, Kim was diagnosed to have the early stage of lumbar disc herniation (L4~L5).[9]

Kim was selected to compete at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships based on her performance from the season so far. Because of the placement of Choi Ji Eun the year before, South Korea had only one spot for the World Championships.

In March 2007, at the 2007 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Kim won the short program with 71.95 points, setting the highest short program score ever under the new ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record.[10] She placed fourth in the long program earning 114.19 points, and placed third overall with 186.14 points. She was 8.31 points behind silver medalist Mao Asada and 5.91 points ahead of fourth place finisher Kimmie Meissner. Kim's placement qualified South Korea two ladies entries for the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.[11] Kim was the only lady skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and the free skating programs in the 2006-2007 season.

2007-2008 season

Kim started off the 2007–2008 season winning the 2007 Cup of China with a total score of 180.68 points, that was 24.34 ahead of silver medalist Caroline Zhang. At the 2007 Cup of Russia, Kim won both the short program scoring 63.50 points and the free skate with 133.70 points, to finish first overall with 197.20 points, 24.43 ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. She executed those jumps in the long program: a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple lutz-double toe loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz, a triple salchow and a double axel. At the competition, Kim set a world record for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System.[12]

Kim's two wins qualified her for the 2007–2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Turin, Italy, where she went in as the reigning and defending champion. She won the short program with 64.62 points and was placed second in the free skate earning 132.21 to win her second Grand Prix Final competition with a total score of 196.83 points, by 5.24 points ahead of Mao Asada.

Kim chose not to compete at the 2007–2008 South Korean Nationals and withdrew from the 2008 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships a week before the event due to a hip injury.

In spite of a series of injuries, which caused her a persistent back pain, she competed at the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships. She was placed fifth in the short program with 59.85 points, but she rebounded in the free skate to win the program with 123.38. She scored 183.23 points overall, winning her second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships.

2008-2009 season

Kim was assigned to the 2008 Skate America and the 2008 Cup of China Grand Prix for the 2008-2009 ISU Grand Prix season.

At the 2008 Skate America, Kim was placed first in the short program with a score of 69.50, standing out by the margin of 11.70 points despite a trouble in her double axel.[13] She went on to capture the ladies title by winning the free skate as well with a score of 123.95. Kim landed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz, a triple salchow, and a double axel. She won the event earning 193.45 overall, a score that was more than 20 points ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano.

Her success continued at the 2008 Cup of China, where she received a score of 63.64 in the short program and 128.11 in the free skate, placing first in both of them. In the free skate Kim completed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, and a double axel, a triple lutz, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz-double toe loop combination, a triple salchow, and another double axel. She also earned a level four on all of her three spins and her spiral sequence. The combined total of 191.75 was nearly 21 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando, and her performance qualified Kim for a spot in the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final.

At the 2008-2009 Grand Prix Final, which was held in Goyang, South Korea, she was placed first in the short program with 65.94 points and second in the free skate where she earned 120.41 points. She won silver medal with a total score of 186.35 points, 2.20 behind Mao Asada.

Kim competed in the 2009 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. She set a new world record of 72.24 points in the short program[14] of the competition with a clean performance. She scored 116.83 in the free skating program, keeping the lead with 189.07 points overall and winning the gold medal.

During the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, she set another new world record of 76.12 points in the short program, surpassing her previous world record by almost four points.[15] She performed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel as well as earning a level four on all her spins and her spiral sequence. She also won the free skating program, scoring 131.59 points and showing great presentation skills with her artistry and her musicality. She executed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a double axel, a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and another double axel. As a result, she set a new world record total of 207.71 as well as winning her first World Figure Skating Championships title. She became the first female skater to surpass 200 points[16] under the ISU Judging System. Her margin of victory was a whopping 16.42 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. Kim was the only female skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and free programs during the 2008-2009 season.[17][18]

2009-2010 season

Kim was assigned to the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and the 2009 Skate America in the 2009-2010 ISU Grand Prix season.

At the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, Kim was placed first in the short program with the score of 76.08 points, which was 16.44 points ahead of Yukari Nakano, who placed second in that segment of the competition. She successfully executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, followed by a triple flip and a double axel. Her spiral sequence and all the three spins were graded a level four. Opening with a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination and showing great artistic skills, Kim won the free skate scoring 133.95 points. She also executed a double axel-double toe loop-double loop, a double axel-triple toe loop, a triple salchow, a triple lutz and a double axel. She won the event with 210.03 points, 36.04 ahead of silver medalist Mao Asada. Kim set world records for the free skate and the overall score under the ISU Judging System at the competition.[19]

At the 2009 Skate America, Kim placed first again after the short program with the score of 76.28, which was 17.48 points ahead of her closest competitor Rachael Flatt. Like in the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, she beautifully executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double axel. She received +2.20 grade of execution for her triple lutz-triple toe loop combination,[5] the highest ever given by the ISU in ladies' figure skating. She placed second in the free skate with the score of 111.70 points, due to unexpected mistakes in her jumps. Although it was one of her lowest scores, she still won the event with 187.98 points, beating silver medalist Rachael Flatt yet with a lead of 13.07. At the competition, set a new world record again for the short program under the ISU Judging System.[20]

Her victories in both Grand Prix events qualified her for the 2009-2010 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Japan, in December 2009. At the event, she placed second in the short program with 65.64 points, 0.56 behind Miki Ando. On the next day, she won the free skate with 123.22 points, 3.48 ahead of Ando. As a result, Kim won her third Grand Prix Final title with a total of 188.86 points. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she scored a 78.50; a new world record.

2010 Winter Olympics

From February 23rd till the 25th she competed in the ladies event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

On February 23rd, 2010, she competed in the short program, where she executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop, a triple flip and a double axel. Her spirals and her spins were all graded a level four. Her technical score of 44.70 points was the highest of the event and she was also superior to the rest of the competitors in the program components score, where she received 33.80 due to her interpretative artistic skills. As a result Kim scored 78.50 points, taking the lead by 4.72 over Mao Asada and getting her best score in the short program. She set a new world record for the short program.[21]

Coaching changes

In order to prepare for her senior debut in the 2006–2007 season, Kim trained extensively at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club of Toronto, Canada during the summer of 2006.

In March 2007, Brian Orser became her new full-time coach. Satisfied with the training environment in Toronto, Kim made Toronto her permanent training ground. Her coaching team includes Brian Orser, Astrid Shrubb, David Wilson and Tracy Wilson.[1]

Skating techniques

Kim landed her first triple jump at the age of 10, and at 12, she could use five triple jumps in her figure skating program.[22]

When Kim was 14 years old, she landed her first triple-triple combination jump at the 2005 World Junior Championships.[23]

Kim has executed three different triple-triple combination jumps in competitions: a triple lutz-triple toe loop,[24] a triple flip-triple toe loop,[25] and a triple toe loop-triple toe loop.[26]

Kim can also execute a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop jump combination.[27]

Kim has received +2.20 grade of execution[5] for jumps, and she has also received +2.00 grade of execution for her spiral sequence,[28] for her steps sequence[29] and for her spins.[29]

One of Kim's signature moves is her bent-leg layover camel spin, frequently called the Yu-Na spin. Her other signature move is a layback ina bauer that she leads directly into a double axel jump, to a double axel-triple toe loop jump combination or to a double axel-double toe loop-double loop jump combination.

Kim is famous for her technical brilliance, high jumps, huge ice coverage, fast speed, superior artistry, lyrical style, grace and musicality,[30] and for the great ice coverage of her jumps due to her high speed take-off.[31]

Public life and endorsements

Kim's official sponsors are Nike, Kookmin Bank, and Hyundai Motor Company.[32]

Her skating music and other favorites were compiled in the album Yuna Kim ~ Fairy On ICE ~ Skating Music (Universal Music Korea, 2008).[33]

Kim was the headliner of the 2008 and 2009 Festa On Ice, which also featured world class figure skaters. IB Sports, Kim's agency, produced the ice show.

IB Sports put on another ice show, Ice All Stars 2009, which took place in Seoul on August 14–16, 2009. Michelle Kwan, who is a five-time World Champion and a twice Olympic medalist and who is known to be Kim's idol, joined the ice show.[34]

Kim was also named as an ambassador for the 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year.[35]

Kim has appeared on multiple commercials[36] in South Korea. She sings in some commercials and also sang in T.V. specials.[37] Her commercial for a new touchscreen haptic phone from Samsung Electronics, dubbed as Yuna's Haptic (SPH-W7700), debuted in South Korea on May 24, 2009.[38] In the commercial, she plays a rock singer, a teenager, and a writer to show off various features of the phone.[39] Samsung Electronics has sold over one million devices in a record seven months.[40]

References

1. ^ a b "Yu-Na Kim: The Best is Yet to Come". International Figure Skating. 2007-12. http://www.ifsmagazine.com/archive/2007/DECEMBER/INDEX.PHP.

2. ^ "ISU Judging System Statistics, Progression of Highest Score, Ladies SP". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/phslsp.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-03.

3. ^ "ISU Judging System Statistics, Progression of Highest Score, Ladies FS". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/phslfs.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-03.

4. ^ a b "ISU Judging System Statistics, Progression of Highest Score, Ladies Total Score". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/phslto.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-03.

5. ^ a b c "2009 ISU GP Cancer.Net Skate America, Ladies SP protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpusa09/gpusa09_Ladies_SP_Scores.pdf.

6. ^ "Current ISU World Standings". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/ws/wsladies.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-03.

7. ^ "Kim Yu-Na Captures Skate America Title". The Korea Times. 2008-10-27. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/136_33341.html.

8. ^ "김연아 “남 의식하기보단 자발적인 노력의 힘” 연습벌레 근성이 성공의 발판.". Newsen. 2009-05-18. http://media.daum.net/breakingnews/sports/view.html?cateid=1031&newsid=20090518110807256&p=newsen. (Korean)

9. ^ "Skate Phenom Diagnosed With Hernia". Donga.com. 2007-01-04. http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2007010487838.

10. ^ "ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2007 Tokyo (JPN) Day 4". International Skating Union. 2007-03-23. http://www.sportcentric.com/vsite/vcontent/content/news/0,10869,4844-131973-133281-18886-268075-news-item,00.html.

11. ^ "International Skating Union Communication No. 1469 Entries ISU Championships 2008". International Skating Union. http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=597.

12. ^ "2007 ISU Cup of Russia, Day 2 report". International Skating Union. 2007-11-24. http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,4844-128590-19728-18885-280501-3787-4771-layout160-129898-news-item,00.html.

13. ^ "Kim surges to big lead after short at Skate America". Icenetwork.com. 2008-10-26. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081026&content_id=54227&vkey=ice_news.

14. ^ "Kim posts record SP score at Four Continents". Icenetwork.com. 2009-02-05. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090205&content_id=60765&vkey=ice_news.html.

15. ^ "Kim sets new standard in ladies short at worlds". Icenetwork.com. 2009-03-27. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090327&content_id=63271&vkey=ice_news.

16. ^ "Top-10 ladies moments of 2008-09". Icenetwork.com. http://web.icenetwork.com/gen/photogallery/year_2009/month_06/day_02/cf5102118.html.

17. ^ "2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championships - Ladies SP judges detais per skater". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2009/wc09_Ladies_SP_Scores.pdf.

18. ^ "2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championships - Ladies FS judges detais per skater". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2009/wc09_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf.

19. ^ "Kim takes gold in record-breaking fashion". Icenetwork.com. 2009-10-17. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091017&content_id=7480284&vkey=ice_news.

20. ^ "Kim's short has license to kill". Icenetwork.com. 2009-11-14. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091114&content_id=7667832&vkey=ice_news.

21. ^ "Figure Skating: 'Bond girl' Kim ahead". Vancouver 2010: Figure Skating. 2010-02-23. http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-news/n/news/afp-news/figure-skating--bond-girl-kim-ahead--rochette-third_291260NE.html.

22. ^ Song, Chang-Hoon (2009-04-01). "Studying Yuna Kim". Chosun Ilbo Blog. http://blog.chosun.com/blog.log.view.screen?blogId=24779&logId=3834417. Retrieved 2009-10-31.

23. ^ "2005 ISU World Junior Championships, Ladies QR protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isufs.org/results/wjc2005/WJC05_LadiesQualifyingGroupB_FS_Scores.pdf.

24. ^ "2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix Sofia Cup, Ladies FS protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isufs.org/results/jgpbul2005/jgpbul05_Ladies_FS_scores.pdf.

25. ^ "2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, Ladies FS protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpf0506/jgpf0506_Ladies_FS_scores.pdf.

26. ^ "2005 ISU World Junior Championships, Ladies FS protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isufs.org/results/wjc2005/WJC05_Ladies_FS_Score.pdf.

27. ^ "2005 ISU Junior Grand Prix Slovakia, Ladies FS protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpsvk2005/jgpsvk05_Ladies_FS_scores.pdf.

28. ^ "2008 ISU Cup of China, Ladies FS protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isufs.org/results/gpchn08/gpchn08_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf.

29. ^ a b "2009 ISU World Championships, Ladies SP protocol". International Skating Union. http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2009/wc09_Ladies_SP_Scores.pdf.

30. ^ NBC comments at the 2009 World Figure Championships (Michelle Kwan and Dick Burton)

31. ^ Comment of NBC's Scott Hamilton (2:44)

32. ^ Kim Yu-Na Official Website-PARTNERS

33. ^ "Fairy on the Ice". Music Aladdin. 2008. http://music.aladdin.co.kr/shop/wproduct.aspx?ISBN=867812055X. (Korean)

34. ^ "Kwan to Join Yu-Na in Local Ice Show". The Korea Times. 2009-07-02. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/sports/2009/07/136_47815.html.

35. ^ "Yu-Na Named Amb. of Visit Korea Year". The Korea Times. 2009-04-29. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2009/05/139_44034.html.

36. ^ Yu-Na Kim commercial

37. ^ Yu-Na Kim singing live "Can You Hear Me?" at Angels on Ice

38. ^ "Yu-Na Becomes Model for Handset CF". The Korea Times. 2009-05-10. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2009/05/123_44623.html.

39. ^ "록커로 변신한 김연아". 해럴드경제. 2009-05-22. http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=105&oid=112&aid=0002006816. (Korean)

40. ^ "미 언론 '김연아폰' 신기록의 힘은...". chosun.com. 2009-12-24. http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/12/24/2009122400181.html?Dep0=chosunnews&Dep1=hotnews&Dep2=news03. (Korean)

41. ^ "The Nymph of Figure Skating Waits for August". The Dong-A Ilbo. 2004-02-10. http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2004021114318&path_dir=20040211. There was miscommunication between ISU and Korean Federation.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Yu-Na