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'Ice queen' Kim has Olympic gold in her eyes


South Korean figure skating figure skating

Sport in which ice skaters, singly or in pairs, perform various jumps, spins, and footwork. The figure skate blade has a special serrated toe pick, or toe rake, at the front.
 star Yu-Na Kim knows she is within touching distance of Olympic gold Olympic Gold is the official video game of the XXV Olympic Summer Games, hosted by Barcelona, Spain in 1992. It was released for the Sega consoles, Mega Drive/Genesis and Master System, and Sega's handheld, Game Gear. .

Ever since watching Tara Lipinsky become the youngest individual gold medallist in Winter Games
This article refers to the Epyx video game series. You may be looking for the Winter Olympic Games
Winter Games is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games.
 history aged 15 at the 1998 Nagano Games, the girl from Gyounggi-Do has been dreaming of being on top of the podium.

Kim missed her chance to compete at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

After Lipinsky, the International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating.  (ISU ISU Iowa State University
ISU Issue
ISU Idaho State University
ISU Illinois State University
ISU Indiana State University
ISU International Skating Union
ISU International Space University
ISU I-Shou University (Taiwan) 
) devised an age limit and Kim, the 2006 world junior champion, missed the deadline by two months.

She has her chance now and is determined not to let it slip.

"I've been watching the Olympics since 1998 and dreaming of being there," explains the 19-year-old.

"For Turin I just missed going because my birthday wasn't enough. Now finally I can go to the Olympics and fulfill my dream of performing there."

The road has been a long one for Kim, the first Korean to medal at an ISU Championship when she took silver at the 2005 world junior championships and bronze at the 2007 world championships.

But she believes her move to Canada in 2006 has done a lot to improve her confidence. She is is now being coached by Canada's 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser Brian Orser OC (born on December 18, 1961 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian figure skater and one of the most accomplished skaters in his country's history, with eight national titles, two Olympic medals, and a world title to his credit. He currently coaches Kim Yu-Na.  in Toronto.

Kim credits Orser with transforming her and helping her to her first world title earlier this year.

"When I met Brian I was very shy, but through many events and competitions my personality has changed and I've become like another person," she said.

And Kim revealed that her short programme for the Grand Prix Grand Prix  
n. pl. Grand Prix
Any of several competitive international road races for sports cars of specific engine size over an exacting, usually risky course.
 and Olympic season was a demonstration of her new-found personality.

Skating to a medley from James Bond films, including appropriately enough, "Goldfinger", she dazzled in her season-opening Trophee Eric Bompard, outshining rivals that included 2008 world champion Mao Asada Mao Asada (浅田 真央 Asada Mao  of Japan.

"For the past few years I've skated to music with a story. But this time I'm trying to express the music itself," she explains.

"David Wilson my choreographer suggested 007.

"When I first heard the music I thought 'right this is something different'. It's not the music that women skaters usually choose. I'm very happy with the decision."

"During the summer I tried to improve all types of things.

"This is the Olympic season. I'm a little bit nervous but I feel confident after last season, added Kim, who heads to Skate America next month, as she fine-tunes her performance for the Olympics next February.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
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Author:AFP
Publication:AFP Global Edition
Date:Oct 27, 2009
Words:411
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