If you’ve been bitten by the Winter Olympic bug, then you know what I’m talking about. The past few days, thousands of eyes have been riveted to the screen, eager to see who would win the gold in figure skating.
Among the top figure skaters are two friendly rivals: Kim Yuna of South Korea and Mao Asada of Japan.
Yu-Na Kim, figure skating gold medalist
Yuna, of course, attracted the world’s attention since she was rumored to be a shoo in for first place. She did not disappoint. Making perfect turn after turn while maintaining an elegant balance, she swirled her way around the ice and into the judge’s hearts. She ended up scoring a world record for points to win the women’s figure skating gold medal.
Though Asada had a fairly successful night, mastering her triple axel, she still was unable to compare to Yuna.
Yuna stunned the world with her graceful swoons. The way she balances athlete and artist is as perfected as the way she balances herself on the ice.
Seeing her on ice reminded us of Michelle Kwon back in her golden years. Which makes one start to wonder, what is it with Asians and figure skating? What do you think YP readers? Does figure skating hold potential as the Asian-predominated sport?
I’ve been thinking this too! Could it be because figure skating selects for smaller, willowy bodies because it provides an advantage on jumps and spins, and there are more Asians with that body type? I have no idea :P
Racial/ethnic clusters seem to form in lots of sports, some of which are probably for historical reasons, some of which are for socioeconomic reasons (some sports are cheap and need little equipment while some sports need a lot of $ and equipment), and probably cultural reasons too (running is part of the culture of the tarahumara tribe, for example)… some physiological reasons (different body types are adapted for different kinds of activity).
That panty-hose-over-the-skates look is really bizarre
Don’t forget the men… Daisuke Takahashi is a beast. His wrists make me die a little every time I watch him.
I agree with Rosalie. I’m Asian and whenever I ice-skate, I always fall more gracefully than my white friends. Woo, go us!
That figure skater with the black and gold dress is not kim yuna, but Mirai Nagasu. And Michelle Kwan is spelled with an a, not an o, so you should get your facts straight.