POSTED: February 28th 2010
SpeakingUp
Gold medal skater Yu-Na Kim boosts PyeongChang 2018 Olympic dream
LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications
VANCOUVER/TAMPA, Feb. 28: Figure skating darling Yu-Na Kim attained her Olympic dream at the Vancouver Olympics by taking the ladies' gold medal and she hopes to help other aspiring skaters to realize theirs in PyeongChang in 2018.
The poised skater made Olympic history with a total score of 228.56 setting the highest marks for her performance. Soft spoken yet relentlessly driven, the nineteen year old student will make a compelling ambassador for the Korean bid.
Gold medallist Yu-Na Kim said: “I am very proud to represent my country here at the Vancouver Games. There have been great performances by several Korean athletes which I hope will continue to inspire young people at home in Korea and across the whole of Asia to participate in winter sports.
“I have fulfilled my Olympic dream by winning a Gold Medal in Vancouver. One day I hope we have the chance to host the Games in Korea and have the opportunity to compete at home, welcome athletes from around the world and importantly, encourage more people to participate in winter sports.”
Crowned world champion in 2009, the ethereal beauty has been elevated to near rock star status in her home country Korea and is besieged by sponsorship requests. Since 2006 she moved and has been training in Toronto, Canada at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club under Canadian coach Brian Orser. Her role model has been champion figure skater Michelle Kwan of the United States.
Yang Ho Cho, Chairman of Korean Air and Co-Chairman of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee said: “The wonderful performance of Yu-Na Kim and other Korean athletes at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games is a great source of pride for everyone in South Korea.
“Our athletes have achieved great success at these Winter Games and we are delighted to see a new, young generation of Korean men and women excelling in a broad range of winter sports.”
Governor Jin-Sun Kim, Co-Chairman of the PyeongChang 2018 Bid Committee said: “Korean people are passionate about winter sports and we hope our country’s achievements at the Games in Vancouver help to encourage many more young Koreans to participate in these sports.
“Our bid to host the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has received tremendous support from the athletes who would all be honoured to have a chance to compete on the world’s greatest sporting stage at home in Korea.”
PyeongChang is competing in the bid race for the 2018 winter Games against Munich, Germany and Annecy, France. The vote will be decided in July 2011 at the IOC Session in Durban, South Africa.
Keywords · Yu-Na Kim · PyeongChang 2018 · Yang Ho Cho · Jin-Sun Kim
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