INCHEON (Yonhap News) ― Fresh off a dominating victory at the recent world championships, South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na said Wednesday that she will now shift her focus to the Winter Olympics next year in Sochi, Russia.
Kim returned from London, Canada, where she overwhelmed the competition to capture the ladies’ event at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships for her second world title.
Greeted by hundreds of fans at Incheon International Airport, Kim said she was “relieved and happy” to win the biggest event since her comeback last December.
Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-na waves to fans after arriving at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday. (Yonhap News)
“This was my first worlds in a while, and I was worried that I might make mistakes in competition,” she said at the press conference.
“I was so pleased that I was able to show everything I’d prepared and skate both programs without a mistake.”
The resounding victory made Kim an early favorite to win the Olympic gold in Sochi next February. The gold would make Kim only the third female skater to defend an Olympic title.
Kim took a hiatus after winning the gold in Vancouver, which had been her lifelong goal, and admitted to “feeling empty” after the 2010 Olympics.
Kim said she felt no such emotional letdown after the latest world championship.
“Going into the next Olympics, I want to prepare as well as I did ahead of this world championships,” she said.
“I think the results will take care of themselves.”
She also announced that she will retain her current coaches Shin Hye-sook and Ryu Jong-hyun for next season.
Kim reunited with Shin and Ryu, both her childhood coaches, last summer, and their contracts expire at the end of this month.
Kim also said she plans to train in Seoul, as she did with Shin and Ryu in the run-up to the world championships.
Kim said she and her choreographer David Wilson are trying to build new programs for next season. She said she wants to come up with something that could top her free skate from the worlds, which was set to tunes from the musical “Les Miserables.”
“This past season, ‘Les Miserables’ had such great reviews, and we want to have something that will make people forget about that,” Kim said.
“While I was in Canada, David and I exchanged ideas and listened to a lot of music. But nothing is set in stone yet. And since this is the Olympic season, we will be extra careful in creating our programs.”
The 22-year-old, who aspires to become a member of the International Olympic Committee after her competitive career, said the 2013-2014 season will be her last.
She will skate the entire season, starting with Grand Prix events in the fall and ending with the Olympics in early 2014.
“No one knows what the results will be until the scores flash up on the board,” she said.
“But since this will be my last competitive season, I want to do my best in every event and leave with no regrets. I want to have a joyous and happy ending at the Sochi Olympics.” (Yonhap News)
