Yu Na Kim is great skater but not even in same league as much greater Michelle Kwan

[judgejudy27]

After Vancouver last year there was some over the top talk of Yu Na Kim being possibly the greatest skater ever. I thought that was ridiculous at the time but it is typical bandwagon jumping I guess. Now though it should be obvious she isnt even anywhere near the same league as Michelle Kwan. Yu Na has competed in 5 Worlds and won the title in only 1. Mao Asada and even Miki Ando have more World titles than her in the same period. Imagine Michelle Kwan letting a skater of Miki Ando's level win even one World title in her era, let alone two. Michelle Kwan has FIVE times the number of World titles as Yu Na despite competing in a far tougher era with much more competition.

Furthermore you compare the two as skaters Kwan is clearly superior in every category except jumps and spins where they are roughly equal. Yu Na Kim should never be compared with Kwan again unless she improves the level of her skating a huge amount, and sweeps the World and Olympic titles for the next 3 years. Add to all that Kim's longevity appears to be nowhere near Kwan's when she is already tailing off after only a few years on top, unlike Kwan who was on top of her own game and womens skating for a decade. And that Kim has only done about one clean competitition in her life. The myth Kim is a much stronger jumper should already be dispelled by the fact Kim doesnt even do all 5 standard triples, as a result has never done a 7 triple long program (or maybe once), and hardly has ever done a clean long program even with the triples she has.

If Yu Na Kim skated like she did in Vancouver 80% of the time she would be comparable to Michelle Kwan. As it is however no.

[manleywoman]

Oh boy. Really?

One thing I will say yuna has over MK: speed. MK was slow.

[antmanb]

Why don't you do a poll? Please make the title at least 30 words long to ensure the right outcome.

[michiruwater]

You really love the off-season, don't you?

[Jarrett]

Oh boy. Really?

One thing I will say yuna has over MK: speed. MK was slow.

While I agree Yu-na is much faster but I would never say Michelle was actually "slow" besides going into her loop sometimes. Michelle's speed was decent. As far as the topic... it's the off season I guess!

[judgejudy27]

I dont agree Kwan is slow. Look at her flying at the end of this program:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ptj_tO7tIXg

It is possible Kim is faster though. That is probably the only are she might be clearly superior.

[Loves_Shizuka]

Well this is going to be good.

[DickButtonFan]

I'd have to agree you can't compare Yuna to MK so far. Michelle is a legend and it will be a very long time before any tops her. I don't think it's just MK's 5 world titles that sets her above the rest but her memorable programs. Her programs are like a piece of art.

So far IMO no one has matched MK's excitement and emotion that she showed in her 2003-2004 national and worlds lp performances.

Yuna is a great skater but I just don't think she likes to compete so she ends up not showing the same kind of joy in her performances like MK did. Michelle loved to compete and she was such a fighter.

[lowtherlore]

I have no interest in a Michelle vs Yu-Na fan war. Both are great champions and belong to the echelon of legendary skaters.

But I'd like to point out Judgejudy's claims, whether seriously meant or intended for fun, are unfair because:

(1) You would never know whether Michelle would have had as long a career if she had won at Nagano;

(2) If Yu-Na were an American and had a backing from a stronger federation, she would have won at least two worlds by now (e.g. controversial judging at 2008 Worlds) and would have become an even bigger stature than she is now, with her olympic win;

(3) Yu-Na has been overall more dominant against her contemporaries than Michelle had been against hers at any point in her career; and

(4) Yu-Na's career isn't over yet.

[Vagabond]

Purple.

[Zemgirl]

Good thing there's a short off-season this year...

If you have enough data, you can play the numbers and get anything you want. Kwan has more world titles, but Kim has an OGM and has never finished off the podium. Kim has finished behind Miki and Mao. Kwan was beaten by Sarah Hughes and Irina Slutskaya, and finished off the podium in her last Worlds. So what does it all prove? Absolutely nothing. They're both great, neither of them is a machine, and it really comes down to personal preference.

[judgejudy27]

Michelle would have competed to 2002 for sure even if she won 1998. Probably retired after 2002 then either win or lose. So she would have 4 World titles and the 98 Olympic Gold as her resume which would be even better in that case, and virtually all of her most historic performances.

[mrinalini]

Tsk, tsk...we know Michelle is the greatest, judgejudy. Although, can't we just, like, keep that fact as something that we all know but don't have to acknowledge? That way we can all remain starry-eyed at the enormous lurve that Kim and Kwan supposedly have for each other, and it'll also prevent the crazies from getting out.

Thanks in advance.

[antmanb]

Michelle would have competed to 2002 for sure even if she won 1998. Probably retired after 2002 then either win or lose. So she would have 4 World titles and the 98 Olympic Gold as her resume which would be even better in that case, and virtually all of her most historic performances.

Do you do lottery number predictions too?

[judgejudy27]

Michelle always said she wanted to compete in more than 1 Olympics no matter what happened in Nagano and she said many times after she would have continued as well. Michelle is wired differently than people like Lipinski and Baiul. She loves to compete and she never was that interested in pro skating anyway. Which is why even after she finally was forced to retire with injury she never did any pro skating.

[lowtherlore]

Michelle would have competed to 2002 for sure even if she won 1998. Probably retired after 2002 then either win or lose. So she would have 4 World titles and the 98 Olympic Gold as her resume which would be even better in that case, and virtually all of her most historic performances.

I agree Michelle had many historic performances. For Yu-Na fans, she also had her share of landmark performances. I really don't see the need to compare the two. It's all subjective, isn't it. And how do we know if Yu-Na is not planning to compete in her second olympic. She'll be only 23 at Sochi.

[ponta1]

(2) If Yu-Na were an American and had a backing from a stronger federation, she would have won at least two worlds by now (e.g. controversial judging at 2008 Worlds) and would have become an even bigger stature than she is now, with her olympic win;

What controversial judging?

[judgejudy27]

I agree Michelle had many historic performances. For Yu-Na fans, she also had her share of landmark performances. I really don't see the need to compare the two. It's all subjective, isn't it. And how do we know if Yu-Na is not planning to compete in her second olympic. She'll be only 23 at Sochi.

If she plans to compete in Sochi she had better get her act together in a hurry. Her skating at Worlds this year was disgraceful for a champion of her caliber who didnt have an injury and wasnt coming off the Olympic high. If her skating has gotten so bad with her new part time approach to skating that she cant even beat Miki Ando what is she going to do against the Russian ladies and a possibly resurgent Mao Asada.

The way she is skating right now is not good enough to win anymore major titles so that she might be continuing is really moot for the moment until she shows some vast improvement in her skating from the atrocity it was at the recent Worlds.

[aliceanne]

The greatest skater is the one that you like best. Neither Yuna nor Michelle is my favorite skater, but they bring pleasure to others so I have no problem with people saying they are the greatest.

If you are looking for objective standards with which to compare skaters, there aren't any. Just ask the judges.

[blue_idealist]

You're exactly right.