Kim Yu-Na’s return to Korean ice has inspired reverential attention from the home press after eight months of training in Los Angeles with her new coach Peter Oppegard. She has not skated competitively since the Turin worlds last March.
Kim showed up at a Seoul ice rink in a black jacket with a checkered muffler and began circling the rink with five young Korean skaters to a series of Kpop tunes. She performed a few spins, turns and spirals but refrained from jumps. The reporters all saw her stumble as she got too close to the wall.
“I returned to Korea after a long time and I’m glad I did my first training with other younger skaters,” she told reporters after about a quarter hour on the ice. “I showed you a little of my short program.” Her short program will be skated to Giselle, choreographed by Canadian David Wilson who also did the two programs with which Kim became 2010 Olympic champion. She’s worked up her free skate around the Korean folk song “Arirang”.Most agreed that Kim looked fit the way she did when she won gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
“I see no big difference from last year,” said International Skating Union judge Lee Ji-hee. “She seems more natural as she moves her body, head and arms when she steps. Other skaters cannot achieve the right balance of their body, head and arms when they step, but Kim Yu-na makes the perfect balance.
“Her emotional expression has gotten much better. She looks more mature than last year and her ability to express emotion correctly is outstanding. It’s good to see her enjoy training, probably because she doesn’t feel pressured.”
“Since there`s no notable skater this season, Kim Yu-na can expect to win the championship again if she can maintain her condition as she did last year,” said Lee.
Kim was to have competed in the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo from March 21st to 27th which was postponed after the big quake. She now plans to perform at an ice show in early May in Seoul and join the Pyeongchang bidding team for the 2018 Winter Olympics as an honorary ambassador.
After taking the gold in the 2009 World Championships in Los Angeles and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she placed second after Mao Asada of Japan in the 2010 World Championships in Turin. This year she will be going for her second world title.
