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'Post-Kim Yuna' skaters

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By Kang Hyun-kyung

One of the things I do when I have free time these days is watch YouTube videos of female figure skaters competing in international championships.

Korea has several world-class skaters. Lee Hae-in, 14, who clinched a gold medal at the ISU Junior Grand Prix at Zagreb, Croatia in September, is a rising star at home. With a total score of 203.40 there, she became the third Korean female figure skater to have grossed 200 points or more, following 2010 Vancouver Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu-na and Lim Eun-soo, another ambitious skater looking to bag a medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Yu Young, Kim Hae-rim and Kim Ha-neul are three other great skaters to hunt medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Here in Korea, these young skaters are called the "Post-Kim Yuna" generation. Spending their childhoods watching Kim reigning the international figure skating scene from 2009 to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the Post-Yuna skaters were inspired to skate and dream to conquer the ice at the Olympics.

Kim Yuna proved how a gifted skater with distinguished records can create a boom in the sport evidenced by a surge of top-tiered figure skaters after her. Since her departure from the skating scene, Korea has been facing a burning question: When are we going to have another Olympic medalist in women's figure skating?

The question has been raised because we've never had a victory at the World Championships, or at the Olympics, since Kim Yuna left the scene.

After Kim's retirement from skating, there has only been one Olympics ― PyeongChang. No Korean figure skaters rose to the podium at the event held on Korean soil.

The reason why I am anxious about Korea's Olympic medal drought is because of the tough reality Korean skaters are facing. They appear to be having an uphill battle trying to win another Olympic medal in the near future.

Russia's domination is a source of concern.

At the PyeongChang Olympics, Russians grabbed both gold and silver. It was a showdown between two Russian stars ― Alina Zagitova and Eugenia Medvedeva.

Before PyeongChang, Medvedeva was a reigning champion and everybody thought she would be the Olympic champion. It was then 15-year-old underdog Zagitova whose fearless, flawless performance earned her a gold medal by the narrowest of margins, with Medvedeva finishing in second despite her clean performance.

Zagitova was like a ballerina on the ice, whereas Medvedeva proved why she was widely viewed as a gold medal favorite before the Olympics.

Their ice rivalry reminded me of the 2014 Sochi Olympics in which then reigning champion Kim Yu-na clinched the silver medal following Russian skater Adelina Sotnikova, one of the most controversial Olympic moments that caused an instant, heated debate about judges' fairness.

I felt Kim Yu-na was like a master artist on the ice, whereas Sotnikova was more like an acrobat.

After PyeongChang, Russians have continued to have the strongest presence, showing no signs of declining at least in the very near future.

Considering what's happening in international competitions, one thing for certain now is that it's going to be tougher for the post-Yuna generation skaters to bring home an Olympic medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The Russian domination tells us one apparent thing we shouldn't forget: being great is not enough. To win Olympic medals, post-Yuna skaters have to outperform or at least match the Russian skaters.

This is truly a daunting mission. Depending on the skaters, some Korean skaters are flawless and finish with clean performances. Their presentation skills are great and few make mistakes in jumps. Just like Kim Yuna did at the 2010 Olympics, Lee Hae-in feels the music when she performs on ice.

Then why are they behind Russians? Technical elements are one reason. Figure skating syndrome Alexandra Trusova, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, holds the world record for the free skate with 166.62 points. She is the first female skater to perform quad Lutz, tip and toe loop jumps. She rarely makes mistakes in those highly technical jumps, and as a result earns scores beyond other skaters' reach.

The Russian dominance shows that talented Korean skaters need to work harder to overcome it. Fortunately, we have two years to go until Beijing.


Kang Hyun-kyung hkang@koreatimes.co.kr


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