The perfect skater-coach marriage of Kim Yu Na and Brian Orser has turned into a nasty divorce. Apparently the management team of Kim Yu Na, headed up by her mother, has dismissed Brian Orser and apparently Orser has now broken a cardinal rule in figure skating and that was revealing the song to her new long program for 2011. There’s some sniping going on between the two parties. This is pretty unfortunate because they seemed like the right dynamic for a winning pair. Making things even more awkward is the fact that Kim Yu Na is still practicing in Toronto at the same rink that Orser is coaching other pupils. This is like dating where you work and you see each other in the cafeteria. Awkward!
Kim Yu Na came across the Pacific to attend Time Magazine’s top 100 most influential gala in New York. She was one of the luminaries in attendance at this very prestigious gala. It’s pretty cool that such a young girl from Korea could make so many people around the world smile. Former figure skating champion Michelle Kwan shares her thoughts about Kim Yu Na.
I couldn’t have been more surprised or honored last summer when Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na told me that as a 7-year-old, she was so inspired by my skating at the 1998 Winter Games that she memorized my skating routines, pretending to be at the Olympics. Twelve years later, she no longer had to pretend. I have never seen a skater with such a combination of artistry and athleticism. From the first notes of her sassy James Bond medley to the closing Gershwin strains, Kim’s inspiring performances in Vancouver changed the face of figure skating forever. Those 6½ minutes on the ice left not only a mark in the record book but also an indelible impression on millions of young girls around the world. For Kim, the dream that began as a 7-year-old has been realized. For these girls, thanks to her, a dream and journey are just beginning.
Time Magazine released their top 100 list of most influential people in the world and there are two Koreans who are in the top 100. Kim Yu Na captivated the world with her elegance and power at this past Winter Olympics. She had the pressure of a country on her shoulders and she not only survived but she triumphed wonderfully with a near perfect performance that brought everyone to tears.
I couldn’t have been more surprised or honored last summer when Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na told me that as a 7-year-old, she was so inspired by my skating at the 1998 Winter Games that she memorized my skating routines, pretending to be at the Olympics. Twelve years later, she no longer had to pretend. I have never seen a skater with such a combination of artistry and athleticism. From the first notes of her sassy James Bond medley to the closing Gershwin strains, Kim’s inspiring performances in Vancouver changed the face of figure skating forever. Those 6½ minutes on the ice left not only a mark in the record book but also an indelible impression on millions of young girls around the world. For Kim, the dream that began as a 7-year-old has been realized. For these girls, thanks to her, a dream and journey are just beginning.
Kwan is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history
David Chang is the genius chef who makes kimchi butter and drizzles it onto one of his famed dishes that even impress chefs of the world. David runs the Momofuku empire in New York and has served dishes to some of the most famous people in the world. His inventive cooking is truly influential.
The cold pink fluff looks like cotton candy and seems entirely tasteless. But soon it begins to melt, seducing your mouth with such creamy richness, it is impossible not to gasp. Beside it sits a fragrant fruit, smooth as pearls. Only David Chang would grate frozen foie gras and serve it with lychees.
When Chang, 32, opened Momofuku in New York in 2004, he reinvented the casual restaurant and changed the game. Turning his back on the high-end kitchens in which he had been working, he started off with a bare-bones place his peers could afford. At first he offered a few simple dishes — pork buns so soft they practically swallowed themselves and memorable ramen made with organic ingredients — but Chang soon began pushing the boundaries, combining a passion for Asian food with his classic European training and serving the kind of challenging dishes once relegated to expensive establishments. He trusted his customers — who trusted him. Whipped tofu with sea urchins and tapioca? Bring it on!
The profane, irreverent Momofuku cookbook, published last fall, brings Chang’s exuberant style right into your kitchen. What he’s feeding is an appetite for adventure, and the ride has just begun.
Reichl, a former restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, was the last editor of Gourmet magazine
K-pop singer Rain and Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na are among 200 candidates for this year’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
Rain has been on the candidates’ list every year since 2006. Although he has ended up placing first or second in the online poll each year, he has appeared on the final 100 list only once, in 2006.
“Rain has long been a phenomenon in his native South Korea, but his popularity in the U.S. is growing after a successful international concert tour in support of his latest album, ‘Rainism,’ included several U.S. stops,” Time said. “He has crossover appeal too — he showed his acting chops with recent roles in ‘Speed Racer’ and ‘Ninja Assassin.’”
On Kim, the magazine reported, “Kim earned South Korea’s first ever Olympic figure skating medal, a gold one at that, during the Vancouver Games. Her graceful command of the ice — her Olympic programs earned the highest scores from judges since a new scoring system was instituted in 2006 — is single-handedly making skating the sport to watch in her golf-obsessed nation.”
The Winter Olympics have officially ended and the big story for Koreans around the world was Kim Yu Na’s gold medal winning performance in ladies’ figure skating. She broke the scoring record by holding nothing back in the free skate and in the end, she won the hearts of millions as she finally let tears flow. She was one of the great stories of the winter Olympics, having arrived in Vancouver with the highest of expectations and the weight of South Korea to win its first medal in figure skating. She performed to perfection and walks away from Vancouver knowing that she executed perfectly and lifted a nation. There have been thousands of articles written about her performance and you all witnessed her breathtaking performance, so we leave you with not just one thought but many thoughts and visuals of Kim Yu Na. Enjoy!
Admit it. You cried while watching Kim Yu Na skate and we all cried when we saw Kim Yu Na let her emotions go soon as she finished. It was the first time we saw the raw emotions of a 19 year old girl and it was just as beautiful as her performance. Queen Yu Na became a king at the Winter Olympics as she shrugged off the pressure and threw down an incredible performance to win the gold medal in ladies’ figure skating. One of the TV commentators said it best when she said that was one of the greatest performances in Olympic history.
Kim Yu Na destroyed the old record with a world record score of 228.56 and won the gold medal. 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 men are allowed to do one more jump in their free skates than the ladies — which makes what Kim Yu Na did all the more impressive.
“I still can’t believe the score that I received,” Kim said. “I’m really surprised. It’s almost as close as the men’s score.” “I have accomplished the biggest, most important goal in my life,” she said. “I am going to enjoy this moment for a while.”
Ladies’ figure skating is the crown event and all eyes were on the reigning world champion but pressure and history were against her as the previous three ladies’ figure skating favorites had failed to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Kim Yu Na is special for shrugging that all off of her and just competing like the athlete she really is. Kim Yu Na was the perfect person to win a gold medal for South Korea. It’s a country that could be considered chauvinistic with a workforce dominated by men, but it was a female teenager on Thursday night that took South Korea on her shoulders and brought pride to a proud nation. Of course Korea took pride in their gold medals in speed skating and other sports, but this gold medal lifted a nation. The last glorious sporting win that captivated South Korea was the World Cup in 2002, and they didn’t even win the world cup. They reached the semi-finals and took pride in their greatest World Cup performance. Since then, South Korea has come up short in sports like the World Baseball Classic. Even this week, there was the disheartening disqualification of the short track speed skating team in the 3,000 meter relay race. They lost the gold medal after having dominated the event for the last four Olympics. But this is special…. really special. A young lady put South Korea on her shoulders and she made them proud. She is now King Kim Yu Na! Bravo Yu Na! Bravo!
Check out her gold medal winning performance (video) at NBCOlympics.com. Also, check out the analysis of Kim Yu Na’s score by the New York Times.
Kim Yu Na kicked ass during the first night of ladies’ figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics. She skated a near perfect performance and outdazzled her competition by setting the all time record for short program scores with a 78.50. This bested her closest competitor and biggest rival, Mao Asado, by nearly 5 points. She came prepared and was a competitor because she had to perform right after a magnificent performance by Mao Asado. It was appropriate that she came out swinging with a performance to the James Bond theme song. She skated with grace, power and beauty. Kim Yu Na is skating her heart out and competing with the grit of Michael Jordan. She has the weight of South Korea on her shoulders and also the knowledge that the previous 3 favorites entering the Winter Olympics failed to win the gold medal in ladies’ figure skating. A lot of guys could learn from her competitiveness and focus. She simply kicked major ice skating ass!
So it has finally come. South Korea’s Kim Yu Na will finally hit the ice in competition for the crown jewel event of the Winter Olympics: woman’s figure skating. There’s a reason why it’s the last of the figure skating events because it carries the beauty and pageantry of the Winter games and Kim Yu Na possesses all of that in her skating. She enters the games ranked #1 in the world and having won many events. However, she carries the weight of the world on her shoulders because South Korea has put their hopes into this teenager to become South Korea’s first gold medalist in figure skating at the Winter Olympics.
Sport Illustrated’s E.M. Swift says Kim Yu Na is the best female skater he’s ever seen when she is at her best. ” I don’t say that lightly, but Kim is the complete package: elegant, athletic, fast, beautiful, charismatic,” says Swift. “Her programs are wonderfully choreographed. She has all the jumps, except the rare (for women) triple axel. Her spins are weightless. But the 2009 World Champion will have to win here before I put her above the likes of past Olympic champions Kristi Yamaguchi and Katarina Witt. She’ll have to prove she can withstand the suffocating Olympic pressure.”
So here’s a quick breakdown between Kim Yu Na and her biggest rival from Japan – which adds to the tension – Mao Asada.
Yu-Na Kim versus Mao Asada
There are several Annie Oakleys in this shooting match, but the gold medal could come down to the same two skaters who have been dueling for supremacy ever since the last Olympics: South Korea’s Yu-Na Kim and Japan’s Mao Asada, who were born 20 days apart in September 1990. Reigning world and Grand Prix series champion Kim seldom stumbles and is peerless from an artistic standpoint. But former world and Grand Prix titlist Asada, who lives and dies by her spectacular jumps, could rack up huge point totals if she lands two triple Axels in her long program as she did recently at the Four Continents event. Their contrasting talents could put the much-maligned revamped scoring system to the test.
Read more at New York Times about how South Korea weighs heavily on Kim Yu Na’s shoulders.
Everywhere I look, there’s a lot of articles about woman’s figure skating champion Kim Yu Na from her chances to winning the gold medal to being the top-earning athlete entering Vancouver. With the Winter Olympics about to start this week, she’s headlining so many articles because she’s intriguing on many fronts. Woman’s ice skating is traditionally the crown event at the winter Olympics and also because she comes into this event with so much pressure. She enters the Olympics with the weight of South Korea on her shoulders to win the country’s first ever gold medal in Olympic figure skating. Further heightening the pressure from South Korea is the fact that her #1 competitor is from Japan, Mao Asada, and we know about the very heated rivalry between these two countries. Unfortunately, Olympic figure skating has not been to kind to reigning world champions who enter the Olympic games. Brian Orser and Michelle Kwan are the faces of failed Olympic bids for the gold medal as both were very heralded reigning world champs. Coincidentally, Brian Orser is the coach for Kim Yu Na and it’s his first time coaching anybody. The New York Times released their second video about Kim Yu Na this week and it describes her relationship with Brian Orser and how she’s been transformed by him from a tactician to an elegant skating beauty. Kim Yu Na was this very raw talent when Brian Orser decided to coach her 4 years ago. She was typical of Korean athletes back then: win by practice and repetition. However, Brian released her creative side and let her express herself. What Brian wants is the judges and the crowds to cry for Kim Yu Na’s performance. So it begs the question, will we cry because she fails to win the gold medal or cry because her performance was so breathtaking?
For the full video on Kim Yu Na and her coach Brian Orser, go to the New York Times.
Facebook
