Everybody loves a winner. Especially when that individual's personal victory can be proudly paraded by her country as its own accomplishment. Yes, I am talking about the now internationally famous, Kim Yuna of South Korea and her recent capture of Olympic gold in Vancouver, Canada. I did not follow her story until after the media frenzy stirred up my interest. What I noticed right away was how everyone - children, adults, women, men, Korean and non-Korean - took to her. Both American and Canadian media, in general, seem to embrace this 19 year old talent. I was very surprised at how boldly ex-skating figures praised her. Here are some examples:
“She’ll more than likely have a few mistakes here, but the gold medal is absolutely hers to lose”Scott Hamilton"Everything is relative to the time and era...certainly, it has taken women’s skating to another level. Technically. The whole package."
Kristi Yamaguchi
"She reaches the last row of the building . . . People feel they’re invited to enjoy it as she is....What's so fantastic about Yu-na is it's not about the money, it's about the sport. It's about skating beautifully. It's about her responsibility to her country."
Brian Orser
"Technically, she’s the greatest of all time. If she skates a little longer and does this over the next three or four years, she will be the greatest skater of all time."
Ted Barton, a Canadian who helped devise the new points-based scoring system
"Yu-na has only been at the top of her game for a couple of years, but if she’s here another four years at this level, a lot of skaters would break down. They would try to up their games so much, there would be injuries. There’s no weakness there. Compare her with anybody; she’s got it all. Under any system, anywhere, anytime, she’d win."
Scott Hamilton
"She's the fastest skater I've ever seen."
Michelle Kwan, the most decorated U.S. skater of all time.
"She has a lightness to her skating and her jumps are very high."
Katarina Witt
"She’s the whole package. Her jumps are soaring and they’re equal. You don’t have one big one followed by a little tiny jump. I think she’s grown choreographically. She’s very musical. The whole thing is very beautiful and athletic but not too athletic. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything when I watch her."
Dorothy Hamill, 1976 Olympic champion
I don't know anything about figure skating. What I do know is that those singing her praises are all accomplished legends of the sport (excluding Ted Burton). If they are saying she's the best and can only get better, then I'll believe them.
This leads to an interesting thought: just how good can she get? She's already set a world record and then totally smashed her own world record at the Olympics. She's only 19. The thought of her talent developing even more from here is frightening. Perhaps Scott Hamilton is right, if this keeps up, there will be no competition for Kim Yuna.
On a side note, I'd like to set the record straight on the pronounciation of her name. In Korean, her name is Kim Yun-Ah. However, because of the way her name is spelled in English, we are calling her Kim Yoon-Ah which, in Korean, is a totally different name. I wonder how she feels about having an accidental second name unwittingly given to her by the international audience/media? Just a thought.
In the end, all this comes down to money and marketability. She was a media darling before, but now, her stock has crashed through the ceiling. According to Korea Times, "South Korea’s obsession with the megastar figure skater Kim Yu-na will also usher in a new marketing craze to associate with her as various companies are hoping to capitalize on Kim's Olympic triumph, Donga Ilbo newspaper said Saturday."
I was surfing through Youtube and came across a hilarious commercial with her and coach, Brian Orser for Samsung Air Conditioners. It's nice that Brian gets to share in her glory. He deserves it.
The thing about Korea and Koreans is that they deeply respect the teacher as much as education. Anyone who's been to Korea and lived there understands this. I don't believe any American, or Russian coach can capitalize on the success of their protege and student as they could in Korea. When Guss Hiddink managed to take Team Korea to a fourth place standing at the 2002 World Cup, Korea showed its gratitude with an honourary South Korean citizenship, a private villa in beautiful Jejudo island, a statue in his honour, and free flights for life with Korean Air to mention a few rewards. What, I wonder, is waiting for Brian Orser? Afterall, he helped Korea's darling win an Olympic gold (first ever for Korea in women's figure skating) while setting a new world record in the process.
"More than 300 companies have been known to approach Kim with business opportunities,” Korea TimesOne source estimates Kim Yuna's revenue for this year to be approximately $9 million US dollars from commercials alone. Again, that would be just from commercials. Good for her. She deserves every cent. This success didn't come without sacrifice. She states her mother to be one of her closest friends. That makes me feel sorry for her. I wonder if she has social interation issues with her peers simply because she didn't have an opportunity to have a normal childhood...but normal is not the word to describe her.
She's a prodigy, a "genius", according to Japanese media. She is naturally beautiful/sexy. She has a killer body and a stunning booty to match. The blessings of symmetry and proportion were endowed upon her at birth. She, quite literally, has the love of an entire country and now possibly the world. Oh, did I mention she's also filthy rich and only 19?
Makes you reevaluate your own accomplishments, doesn't it? *Sigh*. Why do I all of a sudden have this urge to cry out loud? ;-)
Kim Yun Ah/Yuna, congratulations. You should be very proud of your accomplishments. I wish you all the best in the upcoming World Championships! And yes, as a new fan, I'll be sure to watch. Afterall, everybody loves a winner, n'est-ce pas?
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