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'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.
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.
Page created on 4/21/2013 12:00:00 AM
Last edited 4/21/2013 12:00:00 AM