World record in Vancouver would hand Kim Yu-Na a $1m bonus
THE favourite for the women's figure skating at next month's Winter Games in Vancouver stands to win a $1million golden bonus if she can break her own world record in winning Olympic gold.
EXTRA INCENTIVE: If Kim Yu-Na can break her own world record in Vancouver she's in line for a big pay day (Getty Images)
The women's figure skating promises to be one of the highlights of the Vancouver Games, as it pitches the host nation's Joannie Rochette against South Korea's Kim Yu-Na in a re-match of last year's World Championships.
At 19, Kim is Korea's biggest female sporting superstar, with several major endorsement contracts, including car manufacturer Hyundai, US sportswear firm Nike, and the Kookmin Bank.
Kookmin is understood to have taken out an insurance policy late last year with a firm of brokers based in the City of London to underwrite the possibility that they will have to pay-out the skater's bonus.
Kim has been based in Toronto since 2006, where she is coached by Brian Orser, twice the Olympic silver medallist. She was too young to compete at the Turin Winter Olympics four years ago, but has featured on the podium at the last three world championships.
In Los Angeles last March, Kim's combined score was a world record 207.71 points to seal her first world title. No woman had previously scored 200pts.
Her performances, including a world record score in the short programme, drew standing ovations from the spectators at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, with pundits comparing her impact on the sport to Torvill and Dean or Katarina Witt.
Kim finished the competition more than 16 points ahead of Rochette and more than 17pts ahead of the 2007 world champion Miki Ando, of Japan, who edged her teammate and former world number one, Mao Asada.
Kim did lose one competition in the 2008-2009 winter season, being beaten by Asada in front of a Korean home crowd in an International Skating Union Grand Prix.
With Asada hoping to be injury-free in Vancouver, Kim's hopes of landing the gold medal and million-dollar bonus may depend on her landing two triple axels in the same programme, as she did in Los Angeles, a unique feature of her performance.
Comments
kim yuna
all korean with second generation of korea where live other countrys hope that KIM YUNA
is going to have gold medal with top world's
records. fighting! Korea, animo Kim yuna.
Agree!
She seems to have the potential to win, I am backing her, how about you, i am sure deep down in your heart you too!
Chris
In London, Rochette earned
In London, Rochette earned record-setting scores well into the orbit
inhabited by South Korea's Kim Yu-Na, the world champion who trains in
Toronto. Yet she remains awed by Japanese champion Mao Asada. "The only
woman in the world who can do a clean triple Axel ？ she's amazing."
ttp://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/752032--young-gifted-squad-setting-the-bar-high
go! Rochette!
go! mao!
go! miki!
Thank you for sharing that
Thank you for sharing that link please, I am impressed that you cared to share it for all your readers!
Grow up. This article isn't
Grow up. This article isn't about Mao, it's about Kim and Rochette. The reason why Rochette said those things about Mao is because she knows all Mao has are those jumps and she isn't mentally tough enough to land them and not mentally smart enough to change her routine. She's basically saying Mao is no competition for her so she'll say some throwaway nice things about her.
Go!!
so.... i'm south korean too.
and sounds lke she's gona win the olympic!
yEAH!
GOOO YU_NA
Kim Yu-Na and Mao Asada
Does this reporter know nothing about figure skating?
This article says "With Asada hoping to be injury-free in Vancouver, Kim's hopes of landing the gold medal and million-dollar bonus may depend on her landing two triple axels in the same programme, as she did in Los Angeles, a unique feature of her performance."
What?!?!? Kim Yu-Na, while an excellent skater, does not even have a triple axel in her repertoire, and she certainly did not perform two in her long programme in Los Angeles as "a unique feature of her performance." On the contrary, Mao Asada is the only ladies' skater who has thus far shown the ability to do two triple axels in a long program, which she did at the 2008-2009 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, where she beat Kim--but did NOT do at the 2009 World Championships, which Kim won with no triple axels.
This is really falling down on the basic facts of sports reporting, and should be embarrassing to the writer unable to get the facts straight.
While I cannot comment on
While I cannot comment on whether Asada did or did not perform two triple axels at the World Championships last year, it is worth re-reading the final paragraph.
"With Asada hoping to be injury-free in Vancouver, Kim's hopes of landing the gold medal and million-dollar bonus may depend on her landing two triple axels in the same programme, as she did in Los Angeles, a unique feature of her performance."
The author is clearly referring to Asada and not Kim with regards to the two triple axels being a unique feature of 'her' performance.
Look before leaping into criticism next time
I agree! I was about to post
I agree! I was about to post a comment when I saw yours. Kim Yu Na DOES NOT DO triple axels -- that is Asada! Kim winning gold depends mainly on her doing one or both of her programs perfectly (maybe perfect short and nearly perfect long) -- then, the only one who can come close to her is Asada. Not Rochette.
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