김연아 ‘올림픽 어이없었지만...’

은퇴한 피겨 여왕 김연아 선수가 4일 서울 영등포동 타임스퀘어 특설무대에서 열린 귀국 환영회에 참석해 팬미팅을 하고 있다. (사진: 연합)

2014 소치 동계올림픽에서 석연찮은 판정으로 은메달을 목에 건 ‘피겨 여왕’ 김연아(24)가 대회 결과에 대한 솔직한 소회를 밝혔다.

김연아는 4일 서울 영등포동 타임스퀘어 특설무대에서 열린 ‘E1과 함께하는 김연아 선수 귀국 환영회’에 참석해 소치올림픽 이후 처음으로 팬들과 만났다.

김연아는 약 50분간 진행된 토크쇼 형식의 무대에서 소치올림픽을 마친 소회와 뒷이야기 등을 털어놓았다.

소치올림픽에서 ‘클린 연기’를 펼치고도 아델리나 소트니코바(러시아)에게 밀려 은메달에 그치면서 세계적으로 ‘판정 논란’이 벌어진 터라 이날 자리에서도 판정이 주된 화제가 됐다.

함께 참석한 김해진(17•과천고)과 박소연(17•신목고)가 “아직도 그때를 생각하면 속상하다”고 말하며 분을 삭이지 못했지만, 김연아는 여전히 초연한 모습이었다.

김연아는 “어이는 없었지만 나는 끝났다는 것이 좋았다”면서 “결과를 되새긴 적 없다”고 말했다.

그는 “대회 전에는 금메달이 간절하지 않다고 늘 말하면서도 ‘나도 사람이기에 금메달을 따지 못하면 아쉽지 않을까’ 싶었는데, 마치고 나니 그만큼 간절하지 않았다는 것이 느껴지더라”고 결과에 미련이 없었다고 강조했다.

경기를 마친 뒤 흘린 눈물에 대해서도 “쇼트프로그램을 마친 뒤에도 밤에 침대에 누워서 이 시간이 왔다는 것이 믿기지 않아 울컥했다”면서 “참아왔던 힘든 것이 터진 것”이라고 확대 해석을 경계했다.

김연아는 은퇴 소감을 묻는 말에 “스케이트가 꼴보기 싫은지는 오래된 것 같다”면서 “이젠 ‘할 만큼 했다’ 싶어서 아무런 미련이 없다”고 했다.

김연아는 자신이 펼친 최고의 무대로 쇼트프로그램•프리스케이팅 모두 ‘클린’을 이룬 2010 밴쿠버 동계올림픽과 소치올림픽, 2013 세계선수권대회를 꼽았다.

김연아는 은퇴 이후의 삶에 대해 “하고 싶은 것 하나를 꼽긴 어렵고, 더 생각해봐야 한다”면서 “당분간 경기의 긴장감에서 벗어나 편히 지내는 것만으로 행복하다”고 했다.

김연아는 국제올림픽위원회(IOC) 선수위원 도전에 대해서는 “선수위원 선거에 나갈 자격은 갖췄지만 100％ 된다는 보장이 있는 것은 아니다”라며 “구체적으로는 더 생각해봐야 하지만, 아직 그렇게까지는 생각하지 않았다”고 신중한 입장을 보였다.

(헤럴드 경제)

Figure skater Kim Yu-na says 'absurd' Olympic result fully behind her

After settling for silver in a controversial decision at the recent Winter Olympics, figure skater Kim Yu-na reiterated on Tuesday she has fully put that "absurd" result behind her.

Kim, the 2010 Olympic champ in ladies' singles figure skating who took the silver at the Sochi Winter Games last month, met hundreds of her enthusiastic fans at a Seoul shopping mall. She shared with them her thoughts about what many experts and fans felt was a rigged judging decision that denied her a second straight Olympic title and handed the gold instead to the upstart Russian teenager, Adelina Sotnikova.

Though Sotnikova made a landing mistake during her free skate and Kim put together a clean routine, the South Korean finished more than five points behind the Russian. In the aftermath, Kim graciously said she fully accepted the result and the decision was out of her control.

Kim, who retired from the sport after Sochi, said once again the judging saga is well in her past.

"It was all very absurd but I was just happy that it was all finished," she told the fans. "I have never gone over the result and thought what might have been."

Before Sochi, Kim had said she wasn't dying to win another gold medal after capturing one in Vancouver in 2010, and she didn't have any regrets even after the close call in Sochi.

"I felt I could still feel a bit disappointed if I don't win the gold, since I am human after all," she said. "After it was all said and done, I concluded that I really wasn't that desperate for the gold."

After the end of the competition in Sochi, Kim was caught on camera in tears, leading to speculation that they showed her disappointment and frustration over the questionable judging.

Kim said the burst of tears had nothing to do with the result.

"I got emotional the night before also, after the end of my short program, thinking the time has finally come for me to leave," she said. "It was just that memories of some difficult times came flooding back."

At 23, Kim said she has decided not to enter any more competitions, and she isn't about to look back any time soon.

"For the longest time, I've never even wanted to look at my skates," she said. "I know I've done enough, and there is absolutely no regret."

Despite the controversial silver in Sochi, Kim leaves figure skating with her legacy fully secure.

Aside from her two Olympic medals, Kim also has two world championships to her credit. She still owns the record scores under the revamped judging system in the short program (78.50), free skate (150.06) and combined score (228.56), all set in her gold medal-winning performance in Vancouver. Kim is the first female skater to surpass 150 points in free skate and 200 points in total.

In her senior career that began in 2006, Kim never once missed the podium.

She picked her two Olympics along with the 2013 world championships, which she won by more than 20 points, as her three greatest events of her career.

Kim said she hasn't thought much about what she wants to do in her post-skating career.

"It's hard to pick one thing that I'd like to do," she said. "I am just happy to be away from the pressure and stress of competitions. I really don't know anything beside figure skating, and I think I will be doing something related to it."

Kim had earlier said she would like to become a member of the Athletes' Commission at the International Olympic Committee after her skating career is over. On Tuesday, she sounded a little more cautious, saying, "There's no guarantee that I will be elected. I haven't put in any specific thought about it yet." (Yonhap)