Yuna Kim

At 33 years old, Yuna Kim has this physical status:

Kim began skating at the age of six. Her coach at the time, Ryu Jong-hyun, 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. In a 2011 interview, she gave credit to her coaches for noticing her aptitude for skating, stating, "My coaches have told me my muscles and body structure are perfect for skating. I was born with a good instrument, maybe more so than the talent. I was lucky my coaches noticed early on and helped me develop that. A lot of people don't know they are born that way."

During her junior years, South Korea had limited facilities for figure skaters. Describing training conditions for competitive figure skaters, Kim said in an October 2010 interview with CNN, "During my early skating years, there were not many ice rinks in Korea and even the few rinks that existed, most of them were public. Even now, when athletes want to practice, they have to use the rink very early [in the] morning or late at night. Also, as there aren't enough ice rinks to facilitate all the figure skating teams, skaters often have to train in different rinks from day to day. Furthermore, as most rinks are too cold, there is always high possibility of injury." Kim trained in the USA for her distinguishing jumps. "I could learn it in Korea as well," she said, "but considering general practice circumstances, abroad training is much better", describing how her coach used a harness to teach her how to jump a triple Toe Loop. As proper skate shops were also lacking, Kim frequently had to wear ill-fitting skates in her teenage years, making it hard for her to balance and resulting in many injuries.

In 2002, Kim competed internationally for the first time at the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia, 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 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 between 2003 and 2006.

In the 2004–2005 season, Kim competed as a junior at the ISU Junior Grand Prix. She won a gold medal at her first competition in Hungary and became the first Korean skater to win a Junior Grand Prix event. At her second competition in China, Kim was in fourth place after an error-laden short program, but rebounded in the free skate to take second place overall. This qualified her for a spot in the 2004–2005 Junior Grand Prix Final, where she won the silver medal with an overall score of 137.75 points.

She retained her national title for the third year in a row on her way to the 2005 World Junior Championships. At that competition, she won the silver medal with 158.93 points, and landed her first triple-triple combination jump in the free skate.

For the 2005–2006 season, Kim was not old enough to compete at the 2006 Olympics. Instead, she competed in the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix and won both of her competitions in Bulgaria and Slovakia. At the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix Final, she won the competition 28.34 points ahead of silver medalist Aki Sawada. During her free skate, 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 Championships, she won the gold medal scoring 177.54 points overall, with a 24.19-point margin of victory over silver medalist Mao Asada.

To prepare for her senior debut in the 2006–2007 season, Kim trained extensively with Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club in Canada during the summer of 2006.

Kim made her senior international debut at 2006 Skate Canada where she won a bronze medal after placing first at the short program and fourth in the free skate, with a total overall score of 168.48 points. At the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard, Kim received a score of 65.22 in the short program and 119.32 in the free skate, placing first in both. She won the event with a total of 184.54 points, 10.10 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando.

Her Grand Prix performances qualified Kim for her first Grand Prix Final, the 2006 Grand Prix Final in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Kim placed third in the short program with 65.06 points and first in the free skating with 119.14. She won the Grand Prix Final earning 184.20 points, with a margin of 11.68 over silver medalist Mao Asada. Following this, Kim was forced to withdraw due to an injury from the 2007 South Korean Championships and was unable to defend her national title. In January 2007, she was diagnosed as being in the early stages of lumbar disc herniation (L4~L5).

Kim was selected to compete at the 2007 World Championships in Tokyo based on her performance during the season. During the event, Kim won the short program with 71.95 points, setting the highest short program score ever under the ISU Judging System. She fell on both her triple Lutzes during the long program, finishing fourth in the segment, and third overall, behind Miki Ando and Mao Asada. Kim's placement qualified South Korea two ladies entries for the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.

In March 2007, satisfied with the training environment in Toronto, Kim made it her training home, and Orser became her new full-time coach. She was Orser's first real student.

Kim was assigned to the 2007 Cup of China and the 2007 Cup of Russia for the 2007–2008 Grand Prix season. She started the season by winning the 2007 Cup of China with a total score of 180.68 points, 24.34 points ahead of silver medalist Caroline Zhang. She landed a triple flip-single toe loop combination, a triple Lutz, and a double Axel and placed third in the short program. In the Long Program, she hit a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, double Axel-triple toe loop combination, a single Lutz, a triple salchow, a double Axel and three level-four spins to score 122.36 points.

At the 2007 Cup of Russia, Kim won the short program scoring 63.50 points and the free skate with 133.70 points, finishing first overall with 197.20 points, 24.43 ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano, and set a world record for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. She executed a triple flip-triple toe loop, a triple loop, a triple Lutz-double toe loop, a double Axel-triple toe loop, a triple Lutz, a triple salchow, and a double Axel.

Kim qualified for the 2007–2008 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. She won the short program with 64.62 points and placed second in the free skate with 132.21 points. With a total score of 196.83 points, Kim won her second Grand Prix Final. She was not required to participate in the 2008 South Korean Championships due to her previous results. A hip injury prevented her from competing at the 2008 Four Continents Championships.

Despite a persistent hip injury and back pain, Kim competed at the 2008 World 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, and won her second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships. Despite being injured and not near her best, some believed she was unfairly scored in the free skate.

Kim was assigned to the 2008 Skate America and the 2008 Cup of China for the 2008–2009 Grand Prix season. At the 2008 Skate America, Kim 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. She captured the ladies title by winning the free skate with a score of 123.95. She won the event and earned 193.45 points overall, more than 20 points ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano. She won 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. The combined total of 191.75 was nearly 21 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando.

Her performances qualified her for a third trip to the 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 the silver medal with a total score of 186.35 points, 2.20 behind Mao Asada. Kim then competed in the 2009 Four Continents in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She set a new world record of 72.24 points in the short program 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 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. She won the free skate, and set a new world record total score of 207.71, winning her first World Championship title, as well as becoming the first female skater to surpass 200 points 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.

Kim was assigned to the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and the 2009 Skate America in the 2009–2010 ISU Grand Prix season. At the 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 received level fours. Opening with a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination and showing great artistic skills, she won the free skate with 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 a competition.

At the 2009 Skate America, Kim placed first again after the short program with the score of 76.28, 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, the highest ever given for jumps by the ISU in ladies' figure skating, under the historical +3 GOE system. She placed second in the free skate with the score of 111.70 points, due to mistakes in her jumps. She won the event with 187.98 points, beating silver medalist Rachael Flatt with a lead of 13.07. She also set a new world record again for the short program under the ISU Judging System.

Her victories in both Grand Prix events qualified her for the 2009–2010 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Japan, in December 2009. 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 in the ladies event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, where she won Olympic gold, thereby completing her Super Slam.

In March 2010, Kim competed at the 2010 World 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. Kim 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, and won the silver medal with a total of 190.79 points.

In February 2010, Kim competed in the ladies event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She entered the Games as a strong favorite to win the gold. 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 ever. She also earned 33.80 points in the program components. 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, Kim won the free skate with a new record of 150.06 points, setting a new world record for the free skate.She 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. Her technical score of 78.30 and her presentation score of 71.76 were both the highest of the segment. She was the only competitor to earn nines in her program components scores. Overall, Kim totaled 228.56 points, shattering her personal best and own old world record by a margin of 18 points, which became the longest standing record performance in the historical +3 GOE system, from February 2010 to January 2017. She won the gold medal, becoming the first South Korean skater to medal in any discipline of figure skating at the Olympic Games. She also set a new Olympic record. Kim's gold medal was South Korea's first medal at the Winter Olympics in a sport other than speed skating or short track.

Kim's short program, free program and combined total scores in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were the highest scores ever since the ISU Judging System was created, and were automatically registered in the Guinness World Records. Sonia Bianchetti called her Olympic routines some of the greatest in figure skating history. After the 2010 Winter Olympics, personalities such as Jacques Rogge and Hillary Clinton praised Kim's Olympic performance.

In August 2010, Kim and her coach of four years, Brian Orser, parted ways. Their split was first made known to the public by Orser's press release. Orser's dismissal was reported as "sudden and unexpected" and no explanation was given for the split. Orser made the separation public, saying he did not want it to become a distraction for his other skaters, including Americans Adam Rippon and Christina Gao. Rippon said in an interview that they had known about the situation longer than the general public, and had had time to deal with it, noting that "it hasn't affected Brian's coaching, and it certainly hasn't affected my training". Kim posted an online message accusing Orser of lying. She stated on her official website that they had been maintaining an awkward and ambiguous relationship for months and that she was perplexed by Orser's announcement. She also said that the dismissal had been her decision and that the reason behind it did not need to be made public. After the split, Orser gave several interviews regarding the end of their collaboration. On August 25, 2010, Orser caused controversy by revealing Kim's 2010–2011 competitive program information to the press without Kim and her choreographer's consent. Soon after, Kim left the rink where she had trained with Orser to train at the East West Ice Palace in Los Angeles owned by Michelle Kwan and Kwan's family. On October 5, 2010, Peter Oppegard was announced as Kim's coach.

Kim was assigned to the 2010 Cup of China and to the 2010 Cup of Russia for the 2010–2011 ISU Grand Prix season. However, she chose not to compete in the Grand Prix series to focus on the 2011 World Championships. She won the silver medal at the event after being placed first in the short program and second in the free skate with a total score of 194.50 points, 1.29 points behind Miki Ando.

Kim said she might miss the next Grand Prix series due to her work promoting South Korea's successful bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. In May 2011, Kim told Around the Rings that bringing the Winter Olympics to Pyeongchang would be an inspiration to young athletes in Korea. She officially announced she would be sitting out the entire 2011–2012 season on October 18, 2011.

On July 2, 2012, Kim announced her intention to skate competitively in the 2012–13 season, with the ultimate goal of skating in the 2014 Winter Olympics. However, Kim was not invited to skate on the 2012–13 Grand Prix circuit, so she decided to participate in minor events to score enough technical points to qualify for the 2013 World Championships.

Kim left Oppegard and started training with her childhood coaches Shin Hea-sook and Ryu Jong-hyun. Her first competition of the season was the 2012 NRW Trophy which was held in Dortmund, Germany, from December 5–9, 2012. She competed at the event to earn the minimum score required for Championship events. Kim placed first in the short program with a score of 72.27 points and also won the free skate with 129.34 to claim the gold medal. With the technical qualifications met, Kim's agency said she would focus on Korean nationals and the World Championships.

In January 2013, due to her lack of competition in the previous season, Kim had to compete in the 2013 South Korean Championships to earn a spot for the 2013 World Championships. She placed first in the short program with a score of 64.97, and won the free skate with a score of 145.80, after skating a clean program. Kim won her fifth national title and qualified to compete in the World Championships.

At the 2013 World Championships, Kim placed first in the short program with a score of 69.97 points after completing a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double Axel, taking the lead over Carolina Kostner from Italy by 3.11 points. She also won the free skate after executing a clean free program that earned 148.34 points. Her technical score of 74.73 and her presentation score of 73.61 were the highest of the night, and was the only skater of the competition to receive tens in her program components. With 218.31 points overall, Kim claimed her second world title, surpassing the rest of the competitors by 20.42 points, the largest difference between gold and silver in the nine years the ISU Judging System had been used in the World Championships. Her world title secured three spots for South Korea in the ladies event for the 2014 Winter Olympics and 2014 World Championships.

In the 2013–2014 ISU Grand Prix season, Kim was assigned to compete in the 2013 Skate Canada International and in the 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard. However, on September 26 it was announced that Kim would not compete in the Grand Prix series due to a metatarsal injury to her right foot (bruised bones) from excessive training, with recovery expected to take up to six weeks.

Kim competed in the 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia from December 5–8, 2013. She placed first in the short program with a score of 73.37 points and won the free program with 131.12 points, despite falling on a triple Lutz. She won the gold medal with a total score of 204.49 points, beating Miki Ando of Japan by 27.67 points.

In early January, Kim competed in the 2014 South Korean Championships. She led after a perfect short program with 80.60 points and won the free program with 147.26 points. As a result, Kim won her sixth national title with a total score of 227.86 points.

In February 2014, Kim competed in the ladies event at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, with the intention of her two programs being the farewell performances of her competitive career. She led the short program and came in second in the free program, and finished with an Olympic silver medal. This was a source of controversy to many. Kurt Browning, four-time World champion and commentator for CBC, stated: "Yu-na Kim outskated [Sotnikova], but it's not just a skating competition anymore—it's math." American Olympic champion Dick Button stated: "Sotnikova was energetic, strong, commendable, but not a complete skater". As anticipated, Kim announced that the Olympics would mark the end of her competitive skating career.

Professional career

Between 2008 and 2010, Kim headlined the ice show Festa on Ice, produced by her former agency, IB Sports. IB Sports produced another ice show, Ice All Stars, which took place in Seoul on August 14–16, 2009. Michelle Kwan, who is Kim's idol and the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, joined the ice show.

In April 2010, Kim left IB Sports and set up her own agency called All That Sports Corp. (AT Sports) with the support of her mother. They organized an ice show, All That Skate. In October 2010, Kim and her management debuted All That Skate LA, a US version of their Korean ice show brand, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show, directed by Canadian choreographer David Wilson, featured Michelle Kwan, the reigning Olympic champions from three skating disciplines including Kim, and many world champions. It received positive reviews from both figure skating fans and critics for bringing a new style of skating show to the US and for overall high production quality.

On June 17, 2012, Kim took part in Artistry on Ice in China. According to Li Sheng, president of SECA, the host of the show, it took two years to lure Kim. He added, "It's a breakthrough in Artistry on Ice, and even in China's figure skating history, although she only took part in the Shanghai stop."

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