ID :
87703
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 23:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/87703
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea aims for first figure skating gold in Vancouver
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- With the Vancouver Winter Olympics just 100 days away,
South Korean athletes are determined to retain the nation's No. 7 medal ranking
attained during the previous Winter Games in 2006, sports officials in Seoul said
Tuesday.
South Korean figure skater and reigning world champion Kim Yu-na is expected to
add to the country's gold count as part of a national squad expected to perform
strongly in that and other events, including short track speed skating, the
officials said.
The Winter Olympic Games will kick off a 17-day run on Feb. 12 in the Canadian
city of Vancouver under the motto of "With Glowing Hearts." An estimated 5,000
athletes and staff from around the world will compete for 86 medals in seven
sporting events -- skiing, speed skating, biathlon, bobsled, luge, ice hockey and
curling.
The torch relay arrived in Canada on Nov. 1 after the flame was lit in Greece
last month.
South Korea ranked seventh at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics with six golds,
three silvers and one bronze, though all the medals came from speed skating
events. All told, South Korea has won 31 Winter Olympics medals, with the short
track speed skating competition accounting for 29 of them.
That scenario is likely to change next year as Kim has emerged as a strong
favorite to win South Korea's first figure skating Olympic gold medal.
The 19-year-old, who was not allowed to take part in the 2006 Olympics due to her
age, set a new world record of 210.03 points in the recent Grand Prix series
tournament held in Paris last month.
She defeated her arch rival Mao Asada of Japan by a margin of 26 points, raising
hopes that she will become the first South Korean to claim the figure skating
gold.
"The Olympics is a dream stage for all players. I dreamed of becoming a figure
skater after I saw Michelle Kwan in the 1998 Nagano Olympics," Kim said through
her agent. She is training in Toronto with her Canadian coach Brian Oser.
"I will do my best and never lower my guard until the end. I will not disappoint
my supporters or myself."
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
South Korean athletes are determined to retain the nation's No. 7 medal ranking
attained during the previous Winter Games in 2006, sports officials in Seoul said
Tuesday.
South Korean figure skater and reigning world champion Kim Yu-na is expected to
add to the country's gold count as part of a national squad expected to perform
strongly in that and other events, including short track speed skating, the
officials said.
The Winter Olympic Games will kick off a 17-day run on Feb. 12 in the Canadian
city of Vancouver under the motto of "With Glowing Hearts." An estimated 5,000
athletes and staff from around the world will compete for 86 medals in seven
sporting events -- skiing, speed skating, biathlon, bobsled, luge, ice hockey and
curling.
The torch relay arrived in Canada on Nov. 1 after the flame was lit in Greece
last month.
South Korea ranked seventh at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics with six golds,
three silvers and one bronze, though all the medals came from speed skating
events. All told, South Korea has won 31 Winter Olympics medals, with the short
track speed skating competition accounting for 29 of them.
That scenario is likely to change next year as Kim has emerged as a strong
favorite to win South Korea's first figure skating Olympic gold medal.
The 19-year-old, who was not allowed to take part in the 2006 Olympics due to her
age, set a new world record of 210.03 points in the recent Grand Prix series
tournament held in Paris last month.
She defeated her arch rival Mao Asada of Japan by a margin of 26 points, raising
hopes that she will become the first South Korean to claim the figure skating
gold.
"The Olympics is a dream stage for all players. I dreamed of becoming a figure
skater after I saw Michelle Kwan in the 1998 Nagano Olympics," Kim said through
her agent. She is training in Toronto with her Canadian coach Brian Oser.
"I will do my best and never lower my guard until the end. I will not disappoint
my supporters or myself."
brk@yna.co.kr
(END)
