Friday, February 05, 2010

KIM YUNA

Kim Yu-Na 김연아



This is a Korean name 김 연아;
The family name is Kim.

Personal Information ;))

Full name: Kim Yu-Na
Country represented: South Korea
Date of birth: September 5, 1990 (1990-09-05) (age 19)
Place of birth: Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do 경기도
Home town: Gunpo, Gyeonggi-do
Residence: Seoul
Toronto, Canada
Height: 164cm (5ft 4in)
Coach: Brian Orser
Former coach: Kim Se-Yeol
Chi Hyeon-Jeong
Shin Hye-Sook
Ryu Jong-Hyeon
Choreographer: David Wilson
Sandra Bezic
Former choreographer: Tom Dickson
Jeffrey Buttle
Jadene Fullen
Kim Se-Yeol
Catarina Lindgren
Chi Hyeon-Jeong
Skating club: Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club
ISU personal best scores
Combined total: 228.56 (WR)
2010 Winter Olympics
Short program: 78.50 (WR)
2010 Winter Olympics
Free skate: 150.06 (WR)
2010 Winter Olympics
Medal record
Competitor for South Korea
Ladies' Figure skating
Olympic Games
Gold 2010 Vancouver Ladies' singles
World Championships
Silver 2010 Turin Ladies' singles
Gold 2009 Los Angeles Ladies' singles
Bronze 2008 Gothenburg Ladies' singles
Bronze 2007 Tokyo Ladies' singles
Four Continents Championships
Gold 2009 Vancouver Ladies' singles
Grand Prix Final
Gold 2009–10 Tokyo Ladies' singles
Silver 2008–09 Goyang Ladies' singles
Gold 2007–08 Turin Ladies' singles
Gold 2006–07 St. Petersburgh Ladies' singles
World Junior Championships
Gold 2006 Ljubljana Ladies' singles
Silver 2005 Kitchener Ladies' singles
Junior Grand Prix Final
Gold 2005–2006 Ostrava Ladies' singles
Silver 2004–2005 Helsinki Ladies' singles


Olympic medal record
Ladies' Figure skating
Competitor for South Korea
Gold 2010 Vancouver Ladies' singles

Kim Yu-Na (Hangul: 김연아, Hanja: 金姸兒, IPA: [kimjʌna]; born September 5, 1990 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do) is a South Korean figure skater.

She is the 2010 Olympic champion in ladies singles, the 2009 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time (2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2009–2010) Grand Prix Final champion, the 2006 World Junior champion, the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a four-time (2002–2005) South Korean national champion.

Kim is the first South Korean figure skater to win a medal at an ISU Junior or Senior Grand Prix event, ISU Championship, or Olympic Games. She is one of the most highly recognized athletes and media figures in South Korea.[1]

As of April 2010[update], she is ranked 1st in the world by the International Skating Union (ISU).[2] She is also the current record holder for ladies in the short program,[3] the free skating[4] and the combined total[5] under the ISU Judging System. She was the first female skater to surpass the 200-point mark[5] under the ISU Judging System

PERSONAL LIFE

Kim Yu-Na was born in 1990 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, and moved to Gunpo when she was six years old. In March 2007, she moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to train with Brian Orser. In 2009, Kim enrolled at Korea University[6] as a freshman, but she had been continuing her training in Canada.

The proper spelling of her name is 'Kim Yeon-A'. However, when she applied for her passport, she intended to write her name as 'Yun-a', but the official mis-wrote her name as 'Yu-na'. In Hangeul 'Yu-na' would properly be spelled "유나" and not "연아."[7]

CAREER

Early career
Kim began skating at the age of 7. Her coach at the time, Ryu Jong-Hyeon, impressed with Kim's talent, strongly suggested to Kim's mother that Kim should continue to skate, predicting that she would become a world-class figure skater in the future.[8]

In 2002, she competed internationally for the first time at the Triglav Trophy, where she won the gold medal in the novice competition. A year later, at age 12, she won the senior title at the South Korean Figure Skating Championships, becoming the youngest skater ever to win that title. She won her second international competition at the Golden Bear of Zagreb, a novice competition. She continued her reign as the South Korean champion in 2004.

Junior Career

*2004–2005 season
In the 2004–2005 season, as a junior skater, Kim competed at the ISU Junior Grand Prix, which is a junior complement to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. She won a silver medal at the event in China and a gold medal at the event in Hungary. She won a silver medal at the 2005 Junior Grand Prix Final with an overall score of 137.75 points.

She retained her National Championship title for the third year in a row on her way to the 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. At that competition, she won a silver medal again, earning 158.93 points.

*2005–2006 season
For the 2005–2006 season, Kim was not old enough to compete at the 2006 Olympics, even if South Korea were granted a spot at the final qualifying competition, the 2005 Karl Schäfer Memorial.

Instead, she competed in the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix and won both of her competitions in Bulgaria and Slovakia. At the 2006 Junior Grand Prix Final, she won the competition 28.34 points ahead of silver medalist Aki Sawada. During her freeskate, she landed seven triple jumps, including a triple flip - triple toe loop combination and a double axel - triple toe loop combination.

Kim won her fourth senior national title. At the 2006 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, she competed against the defending champion Mao Asada and won the gold medal scoring 177.54 points overall, with a 24.19-point margin of victory over Asada

Senior Career

In order to prepare for her senior debut in the 2006–2007 season, Kim trained extensively at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club of Toronto, Canada during the summer of 2006. She trained under Brian Orser and choreographer David Wilson.


Kim made her senior international debut at 2006 Skate Canada where she won a bronze medal after being placed first at the short program and fourth in the free skate program with a total overall score of 168.48 points. She won the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard with a score of 184.54 points, 10.10 ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. Those performances qualified Kim for the Grand Prix Final for the first time. At the 2006 Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg, Russia, Kim placed third in the short program with 65.06 points and first in the long program with 119.14. She won the Grand Prix Final earning 184.20 points, by a margin of 11.68 ahead over silver medalist Mao Asada.

Kim was forced to withdraw due to an injury at 2006–2007 South Korean Championships and was unable to defend her national title. In January 2007, Kim was diagnosed as being in the early stage of lumbar disc herniation (L4~L5).[9]

Kim was selected to compete at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships based on her performance during the season. Because of the placement of Choi Ji Eun the year before, South Korea had only one spot in the World Championships. During the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Kim won the short program with 71.95 points, setting the highest short program score ever under the new ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record.[10] She placed fourth in the long program earning 114.19 points, and finished third overall with 186.14 points behind Miki Ando and Mao Asada of Japan. Kim's placement qualified South Korea two ladies entries for the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.[11] Kim was the only lady skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and the free skating programs in the 2006-2007 season.

In March 2007, Brian Orser became her new full-time coach. Satisfied with the training environment in Toronto, Kim made Toronto her permanent training home. Her coaching team then included Brian Orser, Astrid Shrubb, David Wilson and Tracy Wilson.

2007-2008 Season

Kim started off the 2007–2008 season winning the 2007 Cup of China with a total score of 180.68 points, which was 24.34 ahead of silver medalist Caroline Zhang. At the 2007 Cup of Russia, Kim won both the short program scoring 63.50 points and the free skate with 133.70 points, to finish first overall with 197.20 points, 24.43 ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano, which set a world record for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. She executed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple lutz-double toe loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz, a triple salchow and double axel. [12]

She qualified for the 2007–2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Turin, Italy. She won the short program with 64.62 points and was placed second in the free skate earning 132.21. With a total score of 196.83 points, Kim won her second Grand Prix Final.

She did not compete at the 2007–2008 South Korean Nationals and withdrew from the 2008 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships a week before the event due to a hip injury. With persistent back pain, she competed at the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. She was placed fifth in the short program with 59.85 points, but rebounded in the free skate to win the program with 123.38. She scored 183.23 points overall, winning her second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships.

2008-2009 Season

Kim was assigned to the 2008 Skate America and the 2008 Cup of China Grand Prix for the 2008–2009 ISU Grand Prix season.

At the 2008 Skate America, Kim was placed first in the short program with a score of 69.50, standing out by the margin of 11.70 points despite a trouble in her double axel.[13] She went on to capture the ladies title by winning the free skate as well with a score of 123.95. She won the event earning 193.45 points overall, a score that was more than 20 points ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano of Japan.

Her success continued at the 2008 Cup of China, where she received a score of 63.64 in the short program and 128.11 in the free skate, placing first in both of them. The combined total of 191.75 was nearly 21 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando of Japan. Her performance qualified her for a spot in the 2008–2009 Grand Prix Final.

During the 2008–2009 Grand Prix Final, which was held in Goyang, South Korea, she was placed first in the short program with 65.94 points and second in the free skate where she earned 120.41 points. She won silver medal with a total score of 186.35 points, 2.20 behind Mao Asada of Japan.

Kim competed in the 2009 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver, Canada. She set a new world record of 72.24 points in the short program[14] in the competition with a clean performance. She scored 116.83 in the free skating program, keeping the lead with 189.07 points overall and winning the gold medal.

During the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, held in Los Angeles, United States, she set another new world record of 76.12 points in the short program, surpassing her previous record by almost four points.[15] She performed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel as well as earning a level four on all her spins and her spiral sequence. She also won the free skating program, scoring 131.59 points and showing great presentation skills with her artistry and her musicality. She executed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a double axel, a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel. As a result, she set a new world record total of 207.71 as well as winning her first World Championship title and she became the first female skater to surpass 200 points[16] under the ISU Judging System. Her margin of victory was 16.42 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. She was the only competitor who earned eights in program components marks in both the short program and the free skate at the competition.[17][18] Kim was the only female skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and free programs during the 2008–2009 season.

Season 2009-2010



Kim performing her short program to the 007 James Bond Medley at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard.Kim was assigned to the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and the 2009 Skate America in the 2009–2010 ISU Grand Prix season.

In this season she changed her opening triple flip-triple toe loop combination for triple lutz-triple toe loop, due to edge problems. This combination is more difficult and has higher value.

At the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, she placed first in the short program with the score of 76.08 points, 16.44 points ahead of Yukari Nakano. She successfully executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, followed by a triple flip and a double axel. Her spiral sequence and all three spins were graded a level four. Opening with a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination and showing great artistic skills, she won the free skate scoring 133.95 points. She also executed a double axel-double toe loop-double loop, a double axel-triple toe loop, a triple salchow, a triple lutz and a double axel. She won the event with 210.03 points, 36.04 ahead of silver medalist Mao Asada. Kim set world records for the free skate and the overall score under the ISU Judging System at the competition.[21]

At the 2009 Skate America, Kim placed first again after the short program with the score of 76.28, which was 17.48 points ahead of her closest competitor Rachael Flatt. She received +2.20 grade of execution for her triple lutz-triple toe loop combination,[22] the highest ever given for jumps by the ISU in ladies' figure skating. She placed second in the free skate with the score of 111.70 points, due to mistakes in her jumps. Although it was one of her lowest scores, she still won the event with 187.98 points, beating silver medalist Rachael Flatt with a lead of 13.07. At the competition, she set a new world record again for the short program under the ISU Judging System.[23]

Her victories in both Grand Prix events qualified her for the 2009–2010 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Japan, in December 2009. At the event, she placed second in the short program with 65.64 points, 0.56 behind Miki Ando. The next day, she won the free skate with 123.22 points. As a result, Kim won her third Grand Prix Final title with a total of 188.86 points.

In February 2010, Kim competed at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, where she won gold.

In March 2010, Kim competed at the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships in Turin, Italy. Kim said she had struggled with finding the motivation to compete at the World Championships after winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games.[24] She placed seventh in the short program with 60.30 points. She opened with a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, but had problems with her layback spin and spiral sequence. She rebounded in the free skate to win the program with 130.49 points completing a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip, a double axel-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination and a triple lutz, but having trouble with her triple salchow and double axel. She won the silver medal totalling 190.79 points.


2010 Winter Olimpics

Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter OlympicsKim competed in the ladies event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In the short program on February 23, she executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double axel. Her spirals and her spins were graded a level four. Her technical score of 44.70 points was the highest of the event. She also received superior scores in the program components, where she received 33.80 due to her interpretative artistic skills. As a result Kim scored 78.50 points, taking the lead by 4.72 over Mao Asada of Japan and achieving her best score in the short program. She set a new world record.

On February 25 she won the free skate with a score of 150.06 points, 18.34 ahead of Asada, who also came in second place in that segment of the competition. Kim landed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip, a double axel-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple salchow, a triple lutz and a double axel as well as receiving level fours for her spins and her spiral sequence. Combined with her grace and musical expression, both her technical score of 78.30 and her presentation of 71.76 were the highest of the night. She was the only one who earned nines in program components marks.[26] She set a new world record for the free skate under the ISU Judging System.[27] Overall, Kim totaled 228.56 points, shattering her personal best and own old world record by a margin of 18 points.[27] She won the gold medal, becoming the first South Korean skater to medal in any discipline of figure skating at the Olympic Games. Kim's gold medal was South Korea's first medal at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than speed skating or short track.

Skating Techniques

Kim landed her first triple jump at the age of 10, and at 12, she used five triple jumps in her figure skating program.[29] When she was 14 years old, she landed her first triple-triple combination jump at the 2005 World Junior Championships.[30]

Kim has executed three different triple-triple combination jumps in competitions: a triple lutz-triple toe loop,[31] a triple flip-triple toe loop,[32] and a triple toe loop-triple toe loop.[33] She can also execute a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop jump combination.[34] She has received +2.20 grade of execution for jumps[22], and she has also received +2.00 grade of execution for her spiral sequence,[35] for her steps sequence[36] and for her spins.[36]

One Kim's most famous moves is the bent-leg layover camel spin. Josee Chouinard was the first, who performed this camel spin variation. This spin has been called the "Harding camel", after Tonya Harding. Nowadays It has also been called the "Yu-Na spin" or "Yu-Na camel".

Her signature move is a layback ina bauer that she leads directly into a double axel jump, to a double axel-triple toe loop jump combination or to a double axel-double toe loop-double loop jump combination.

Kim is famous for her technical brilliance, high jumps, speed, superior artistry, lyrical style, grace, and musicality, and for the great ice coverage of her jumps due to her high speed take-off.

Public Life and Endorsements

Kim's official partners are Anycall (mobile phone), Hauzen (air conditioner), Hyundai Motor Company (automobiles), Kookmin Bank, Korean Air, Lac Vert (cosmetics), Maeil Dairies Co.Ltd (Dairy products), Nike, Saffron (fabric softener).[38]

Her skating music and other favorites were compiled in the album Yuna Kim ~ Fairy On ICE ~ Skating Music (Universal Music Korea, 2008).[39]

She was the headliner of the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Festa On Ice, which featured other world class figure skaters. IB Sports, Kim's agency, produced the ice show. IB Sports produced another ice show, Ice All Stars 2009, which took place in Seoul on August 14–16, 2009. Michelle Kwan, who is Kim's idol, joined the ice show.[40]

Kim was also named as an ambassador for the 2010–2012 Visit Korea Year.[41]

Kim has appeared on multiple commercials in South Korea. She sings in some commercials and also sang in T.V. specials. Her commercial for a new touchscreen haptic phone from Samsung Electronics, dubbed as Yuna's Haptic (SPH-W7700), debuted in South Korea on May 24, 2009.[42] In the commercial, she plays a rock singer, a teenager, and a writer to show off various features of the phone.[43] Samsung Electronics has sold over one million devices in a record seven months.[44]

Kim is also known to be a good singer. She has sung songs like "If" and "Can You Hear Me?" by Taeyeon from Girls' Generation.

Programs

To view the programs, visit directly to the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Kim-Yu-Na/105492252816757?v=wiki#content

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