Olympics: Asada aims to break Kim's record score toward Sochi+

TOKYO, March 2 Kyodo -
Olympic figure skating silver medalist Mao Asada has set a goal of breaking
gold medal winner Kim Yu Na's record score as she looks ahead to the 2014 Sochi
Games.
Asked if she would prefer that the South Korean champion does not turn pro
before a possible Olympic rematch, Asada said Tuesday, ''I don't know what
she's going to do. But even if she retires from amateur competition, her score
will remain in place. I'd like to break it as soon as possible.''
The 19-year-old made the comments at a news conference, also attended by the
other Japanese medalists, upon their arrival from Vancouver.
''I have things to regret about my Olympic performance, so I have mixed
feelings of happiness and frustration,'' Asada said. ''I'd like to use the
silver medal as a stepping stone toward the Sochi Olympics.''
In their much-anticipated Olympic duel, Kim scored a record 228.56 points for
the gold and Asada finished a distant second with 205.50, still her personal
best.
''(To win gold in Sochi, Russia) I know I need to be consistent throughout a
season,'' said Asada, who endured the worst slump of her senior career before
regaining her form just in time for the Vancouver Games.
''The triple axel is my biggest weapon right now, but I believe I can add other
kinds of jumps to my program, even a triple-triple. I'm thinking about spending
a lot of time working on other jumps in the off-season,'' she said.
Asada is scheduled to challenge Kim once again at the world championships in
Turin in late March.
Daisuke Takahashi, the first Japanese man to win an Olympic figure skating
medal with bronze, also expressed mixed feelings at the news conference in a
Tokyo hotel.
''When the three flags were lifted in the medal ceremony, a whole lot of
emotions came to me at once, including disappointment and happiness over my
bronze medal finish,'' he said.
Japan also won three other medals in Vancouver, with Keiichiro Nagashima and
Joji Kato finishing second and third in the men's 500-meter speed skating,
respectively, and the women's speed skating pursuit team coming closest to
gold.
''We lost (to Germany in Saturday's final) by 0.02 second. I really felt the
severity of competitions on the global stage,'' said Masako Hozumi, who teamed
up with Maki Tabata and Nao Kodaira for the silver.
==Kyodo
2010-03-02 22:46:35