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In her home country of South Korea, figure skater Yuna Kim is referred to as Queen Yuna, the queen chosen by her people.
While all eyes were locked on Kim’s every move Wednesday during the first night of Women’s Singles Figure Skating, her eyes didn’t stray from what she set out to accomplish in Sochi — to become the third women in the world to ever win back to back gold in figure skating.
By night’s end, Kim was one final step closer, entering tomorrow night’s free skate in first place with a .28 point lead over Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova. It isn’t much, but a lead is a lead, and Kim is five minutes away from skating her lead into history.
Last the Olympics saw of Kim, she was under constant media scrutiny around Vancouver, where she gave two record breaking performances and earned a gold medal in the 2010 Games.
Then Kim went silent. The attention was surely still there, but the competition was not. She hardly emerged in the skating universe until coming back to win last year’s world championship in London, leaving people to wonder where she had been and why she left.
Kim skated out to begin her short program on Wednesday in a chartreuse outfit that sparkled at even her slightest movement. Not visible to the naked eye was the very apparent weight of an entire nation’s expectations sitting on the 23 year old’s shoulders. But she did not disappoint.
Kim not only left those at Iceberg Skating Palace in absolute awe with her near flawless performance, but despite only having a sliver of a lead, she silenced all questions of her ability to still compete. Whatever the reasons for her step back from competitive figure skating may have been, lack of talent, determination, skill and passion are not among them.
With such poise under pressure, it’s easy to forget Kim is simply a young girl with an extraordinary talent — a symbol of hope for the host nation of the next Winter Olympic games. Regardless of the outcome in tomorrow night’s battle for gold, Queen Yuna has once again won over the world’s heart.
Jessica Bradley is an Anaheim Ducks writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessiebear23 or add her to your network on Google.
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