South Korea's Kim goes after her first World Champion title

LOS ANGELES, March 22 (Yonhap) -- Kim Yu-na, South Korea's figure skating star,
pledged Sunday to win her first World Championship title that starts this week in
Los Angeles.

The winner of the women's single at the Four Continent Championship last month in
Vancouver arrived in L.A. on Saturday after training in Toronto, Canada.
"What I want to achieve most is to win the tournament," Kim told reporters after
an official practice session at the Staples Center Arena. "I will do my best."
Kim, the two-time Grand Prix Final winner in 2006 and 2007, earned two bronze
medals at the two previous World Championships after injuries. Her archrival Mao
Asada of Japan, famous for triple axels, became the world champion last year and
also narrowly beat Kim at the Grand Prix Final competition held in Seoul in
December.
Kim is a strong gold medal candidate in next year's Vancouver Winter Olympics.
She and Asada had missed the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, because they were
a few months too young to be eligible.
"I didn't realize that this is the last tournament of the season while I was
training in Toronto," Kim said. "But I feel a little bit nervous as I stand here
on ice."
During Sunday's practice, she skated to Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens, her
short program repertoire, and showed her textbook-perfect jumps even though she
had some falls with mistakes in steps.
"I'm trying to get familiar with the condition of the ice," Kim said of the fall.
"It's not a big deal."
She scored 72.24 points at last month's Four Continent competition, the highest
score ever for the short program in women's single. She also set a world record
in ladies' free skating program score with 133.70.
Kim captured the last five Grand Prix series events and two Grand Prix Final
trophies she has competed in since 2006.
brk@yna.co.kr
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