Kim Yu-Na

           The Figure Skating Queen

            "Kim Yu-Na is considered the biggest star in South Korea," (Philip Hersh). Something that she started doing for fun ended up making her famous all over Korea. Kim is a Winter Olympic Figure Skating Gold medalist from South Korea. She became the first Figure Skater in South Korea to receive a gold medal and a national title in her country. She was born in Bucheon on September 5, 1990, and started Figure Skating at a young age of 7 after following her own hero, Michelle Kwan. She began skating at her first ISU Junior Grand Prix at the age of fourteen. Kim then began her Skating Career with South Korea after being the first athlete in Figure Skating to receive first place at the World Junior Championships. These achievements that she earned throughout her young life continued throughout her skating career, and are praised by all of Korea. She competes with other top Olympians at competitions, so she has to take risks whether or not to perform in a way that could benefit or endanger her end result. Kim's determination, endurance, courage on and off the ice rink shows she is working towards her passion as a Figure Skater, and is an inspiration to those with similar mindsets.

Kim Yu-Na is determined to win at the Olympics and receive national titles and displays that being determined will give you the opportunity to do things that go beyond what you plan to do. Kim had a very accomplishing start of her life and career as a Figure Skater: "She began skating at age seven and won her first national title at age 13." (Yu-Na Kim Biography in Context). This quote shows that Kim enjoyed Figure Skating at such a young age, and was able to keep that dedication for the sport, where she performed and received a national title as a teenager. Her enjoyment in Figure Skating shows that she plays the sport to high levels of performance, and is determined to take her love for Figure Skating to an intense and competitive level. Kim's determination did not fade away even after winning several competitions and her skills gave her very prestigious awards. For example: "At the 2009 Skate America competition, she achieved her third career ICU scoring record in the short program." (Pritchard).  She may think that she is just doing what she lives, but her records present her determination and urge to perform for her audience. Her show exceeded the judges' standards that she got a scoring record for doing what she loved without error. Her determination drives her to improve her skills, even if others think she is perfect and not able to learn anything else.

           Kim Yu-Na is able to endure herself at times of defeat and hardships so she doesn't lose herself, and creates lessons out of her failures so she doesn't repeat what she doesn't want to do. Kim performs to a certain extent, that when she takes a break, she tries to improve and continue to triumph. For example: "Kim placed second in both the 2010 and 2011 world championships before announcing that she would take a hiatus from competitive skating, sitting out the 2011-2012 season. She returned in 2012 with a first-place performance." (DiGiacomo). This proves her endurance because she kept herself active with her sport so she doesn't forget anything she knows about Figure Skating.  Even during her break of competition, she continued to practice Figure Skating, and did not do anything that could jeopardize her title as champion when she returned.. Kim is able to perform skills with perfection, but is still understanding of her losses. "'I missed one jump, but my score was pretty good. I am happy with it,' Kim said." (Yu-Na Kim Biography in Context). She is able to learn from her mistakes, and is aware of her own skills if she was unsuccessful at what she did during her performance. She is enduring of even her own mistakes, and uses her experiences of failure to her advantage and makes sure that she never repeats something bad. Kim Yu-Na is enduring and considered a hero because she is able to use her mistakes for her better good to stay at the top of the competition.

Kim's confidence throughout her Figure Skating career demonstrates that she is able to overcome hardships within herself and her performance to prove that she is the best athlete she drives herself to be. She keeps high expectations for herself, and her audience expects high quality performances, so she attempts to execute them with precision. For example: "At the Cup of Russia, Kim set a ISU Judging System scoring record after performing a series of extremely difficult maneuvers, consecutively and without error." (Pritchard). Kim is willing to exceed her limits as a figure skater and overcome them by doing even better. Her confidence is proved when she performs skills that could earn herself first place, and executes them with excellence. Kim is confident that her skills are first-class, and proved herself when: "She landed five triple jumps, including a combination that included a double axel, triple toe loop, and double toe loop." (Yu-Na Kim Biography in Context). Kim is confident because she was brave enough to perform all of her best skills, and was able to perform them to her best ability at the competition. The fact that she is able to perform all of the difficult jumps shows that she is going to use her skills to her advantage by performing all of her best moves from her skill pool to win competitions that she partakes in. Kim Yu-Na is confident because she wants to win competitions, so she will perform difficult maneuvers to guarantee that she will receive first place in contests. She will is an example to others because she demonstrates that confidence is something that anyone can get, and can be a good thing to have.

          Kim Yu-Na's enduring passion for Figure Skating, along with her courage and determination to skate, summarize her attitude towards the sport and how it is fulfilled. The way she acts throughout her life, whether if she is minding her own business, or at the center of attention, displays heroic characteristics that others look up to. She knows that her front image is based on her performance, so she tries to express herself through her skating at the Olympic level so others know what she wants. Kim said it herself, "Connecting with the audience is first, the color of the medal is next," (Herbert) She does not care whether she gets a medal, but cares more about whether or not everyone was satisfied with her abilities. Her audience expects perfect performances from her, since she is known as the Figure Skating Queen, so she makes sure that she gives what her audience wants. She is not happy and satisfied herself,  but makes the audience  happy and satisfied as well. She is an inspiration because since she is a performer, she knows she needs to make others pleased, and she executes that even when pressured by other athletes. Kim is willing to spend hours practicing Figure Skating fundamentals for her own good, and learns about her own actions during competition. She may think of herself as the Champion Figure Skater, but most others will always remember her as a hero with true elegance and perfection.

Works Cited

Alice, Lynette. "Biography: Kim Yu-Na." Helium.com. N.p., 26 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. .

"Kim Yu-Na." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. .

Milbert, Neil. "Kim Yu-Na." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2013. Web.  22 Mar. 2013.

Pritchard, Joshua. "Kim Yu-Na." EasyBib. N.p., 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

"Yu-Na Kim." Gale Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Biography In Context.

Web. 21 Mar. 2013.