"What the audience of 11,771 at Pacific Coliseum had witnessed was an unprecedented combination of technical difficulty and willowy sophistication as Kim became the first South Korean skater to win an Olympic gold medal. She held up under enormous pressure to succeed as an athlete, a cultural icon and a vanquisher of competitors from Japan, which occupied the Korean peninsula for 35 years through the end of World War II."
From Alan Abrahamson, www.nbcolympics.com, February 26, 2010:
"Her free-skate score, 150.06, obliterated the old world record -- hers -- by roughly 17 points. "It was almost a man's score," Kim said with a laugh.
Indeed, her final overall score, 228.56, was about 10 points better than what Jeremy Abbott
, the two-time U.S. national champion, managed here -- and would have put her ninth in the men's Olympic competition.
, the two-time U.S. national champion, managed here -- and would have put her ninth in the men's Olympic competition.The men are allowed to do one more jump in their free skates than the ladies -- which makes what Kim did all the more impressive."
From Juliet Macur, NY Times, February 26, 2010:
From Juliet Macur, NY Times, February 26, 2010:
"After months of playing it cool, saying the pressure to win the Olympic gold medal had not weighed on her, Kim Yu-na of South Korea finally let her emotion show on Thursday."
"Vanquisher of competitors from Japan", "almost a man's score", "finally let her emotion show"? What's there to say?
"Vanquisher of competitors from Japan", "almost a man's score", "finally let her emotion show"? What's there to say?
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