South Korean Yu-Na Kim Gains Olympic Top Spot in Ladies' Short Ice Skating Preliminaries

On Tuesday, February 24th, the Ladies Short Ice Skating Program was held for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The competition started at 4:30 pm and was held at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC.

Unfortunately tickets were not easy to find for this event, with scalpers asking thousands of dollars for just one ticket on Craigslist. My group of friends decided to head to Silvercity Cineplex Odeon. For a minimal cost, we gained entrance to watch the Olympics on the big silver screen.

We were late after work, there was an Olympic-sized lineup, and we missed the beginning. That didn't matter though as we finally made our way inside to our seats. When Yu-Na Kim stepped onto the ice, we forgot all about our grievances.

Kim skated to a familiar James Bond theme, intermingled with a jazz influence.

Kim presented with not only flawless textbook technique, but show-stopping artistry. That can be a tough combination to meet when most ice skaters struggle over one or the other. Combining both technique and artistry together can be quite the challenge.

She ended her presentation with a pointed gun salute, perhaps to the competition? Ms. Kim broke out in a big smile. She had put on a perfect presentation, and she knew it.

Yu-Na Kim skated to top spot with an astounding 78.50 point score. Mao Asada from Japan trailed behind at 73.78, with Joannie Rochette, in the third spot at 71.36.

When Kim saw she had earned top spot, she jolted upright and smiled widely.

Yu-Na Kim brought the world to its knees last year when she soared to the winning spot in the 2009 World Championships.

Kim's family hails from South Korea. Yu-Na Kim's mother gave up her chance to become a famous artist, instead focussing on her daughter becoming a World Champion Figure Ice Skater, with a wonderful chance to perform at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Although Yu-Na hails from South Korea, she is a daughter of Canada, with the famous Brian Orser as her coach. Brian Orser has made his mark in the past as a two time Olympic medallist for Canada. He has taught her to pick up the challenge to skate better than the competion.

"If Canada gets only a silver or bronze medal, I won't care, as Kim deserves the gold medal," said May, from Coquitlam, a teenager who was seated beside me.

Ms. Kim had also broken a record during her Olympic ice skating program on this day. She set a new short-program world record of 78.50 points.

Yu-Na Kim from South Korea goes on to compete in Thursday's Ladies' Free Figure Skating long program at the 2010 Winter Olympics, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Yu-Na Kim touched my heart during her fabulous ice skating presentation on Tuesday, and it's going to be quite the challenge for Canada's Joannie Rochette to catch up on Thursday.