Kim Yu-na says no pressure to win Winter Olympics

TORONTO, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- World champion figure skater Kim Yu-na, favored to
win gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics, said Friday that while she will try to
deliver a perfect performance she doesn't feel the pressure to win.
"I've been putting off thinking about an Olympic gold medal," the 19-year-old
told reporters after an hour-long training session that was made open to media at
the Toronto Cricket Skating And Curling Club.
"Fow now, I'm not feeling any pressure," she said. "I think it's part of my
personality."
The South Korean starlet won all five major competitions and set a series of new
records this year, emerging as the clear favorite to win the gold medal in the
upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics. After winning the Four Continents
Championship in February, she continued her winning streak at the World
Championships in March, where she topped the 200 mark for the first time in
women's figure skating history, and at every Grand Prix event, including the GP
Final earlier this month.
Kim struck a humble chord about the gold race, saying there can always be surprises.
"Every athlete dreams about an Olympic gold medal. Since I was young, I've
watched most of the Olympics and I know there can be many surprises. They can
happen to me," she said.
With about two months left for training before the games, Kim said she will focus
on perfecting her performance. Since the GP Final in Tokyo, she said she has
spent the past two weeks taking a much earned rest, shopping with fellow skaters
or chatting with friends on-line and sometimes practicing jumps. Her regular
training routine begins Monday.
"It (the Olympics) is the stage I've dreamed of since I was a kid, but I will
just continue practicing as I have done so far. With the belief that I can do
really well, I really want to do well," she said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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