Yuna Kim announces her comeback to competitive skating

[kwanatic]

I don't doubt her intentions to skate for herself and to help the Korean team, but truth be told she's going to find it very difficult to let go of the expectation and pressure and just skate for herself. Because no other Korean athlete is on the map internationally (Min Jung Kwak was the top Korean finisher at worlds in 28th place; she didn't even qualify for the FS) the responsibility does fall squarely on her. Beside, b/c Yu-Na is known as a dominant champion, anything less than 1st will be viewed as a disappointment by the media and her detractors, even if she's happy with where she places.

I'm sure she knows what she's jumping back into. She's been through it before so it won't be a shock this time...still, that's why I say this will be a mental challenge for her. She'll have to manage the pressure and skate well. Yu-Na did it once....she might be able to do it again...

[invierno]

OMG OMG I almost gave up the hope of her coming back!! Wow. Just wow.
Personally I'm beyond ecstatic 'coz I always secretly yearned for her return, but I understand the path she chose is not an easy one by any means.
Kudos, Yuna! And thank you so much...

[ratatouille]

This is a good news ! I am very happy she's coming back and sad that she can't participate in the GPS.

As for her coach, personally, she and Oppergard don't seem to match each other. I don't know why but that's what I felt when I saw them together at Worlds 2011. For me, there's only one and only and that is Orser. Orser does know how to handle Kim's situation. But this is unlikely to happen. Kim might go for a Russian coach to help her for Sochi.

With the young Russians and Americans' coming along with Kostner, Mao, Akiko and Miki coming back , it will be a fun season to watch !!!

[l'etoile]

Yuna

When a girl’s in fine fettle, she should win the gold medal,
And yet myself I reproach.
Of course I'm presumin' that I could be Wonder Woman,
If I only had coach.
I'd be graceful - I'd be gentle and strong on fundamentals
New heights I’d approach.
I wouldn’t be so needy .... I’d even be friends with Speedy
If I only had a coach.

Picture me in Sochi, anointed as the star.

Tanith

All hail Queen Yuna!

Yuna

I hear a beat....How sweet.
Just to register emotion, jealousy - devotion,
And really feel the part.
I could stay young and chipper and I'd really skate a ripper,
If I only had a coach.

[kwanatic]

This is a good news ! I am very happy she's coming back and sad that she can't participate in the GPS.

As for her coach, personally, she and Oppergard don't seem to match each other. I don't know why but that's what I felt when I saw them together at Worlds 2011. For me, there's only one and only and that is Orser. Orser does know how to handle Kim's situation. But this is unlikely to happen. Kim might go for a Russian coach to help her for Sochi.

With the young Russians and Americans' coming along with Kostner, Mao, Akiko and Miki coming back , it will be a fun season to watch !!!

I don't know that Yu-Na's style really fits a Russian coach though I could be wrong...

I think Yu-Na and Peter were okay but being that it was their first competition and they'd only been working together a short time, the relationship that we got so used to seeing from the Brian/Yu-Na combo wasn't there.

Given the terms on which they ended their relationship, I don't know that Brian is an option for her. I really can't imagine her going through it all again without him though...it would have been great. And who's to say they might not make up and get back together? It happens all the time so I wouldn't completely count Brian out yet...though I do see it as a long shot. Yu-Na would really benefit from the familiarity of training with him and Brian would benefit from having his star pupil back in his care.

I remember how much I hoped Michelle would go back to Frank when she was shooting for Torino; but then again, they ended their relationship on a much better note. It'd be nice to see Brian and Yu-Na back together. Then again, that ship may have already sailed. Hopefully she'll find someone who can give her the support she needs and is capable of handling the sh*tstorm that comes with being the coach of Yu-Na Kim. It takes a special person...but, if she's learned anything from Michelle, it's not to go into the Olympics sans a coach. That's the one thing I fully disagreed with during Michelle's career. I think leaving Frank prior to SLC was a huge mistake. That's not to say if he were there she'd have performed better...but who knows?

[Alex Forrest]

From my perspective it seems like she is being pressured into this. I don't believe her heart is in it. I don't know her, never met her, but this sounds like pressure. My take on her OGM was that she did it, it's OVER. She never appeared to like figure skating and was even quoted at age 13/14 that she wanted to quit.
Then again, maybe she has stealthily been practicing, straightening out her legs, learning to point her toes, have better turn-out, etc. Who knows.
At least this makes it a bit more interesting.

[Extranjera]

wow, this news is shocking to me, can't wait to see her again

But didn't she say one year ago, that she was forced to compete in 2011?

[l'etoile]

She never appeared to like figure skating and was even quoted at age 13/14 that she wanted to quit.

When a girl suffers from constant injuries and near-family-bankruptcy and trains in a very ill-equiped ice rink which is primarily used for public, hockey players, and speed skaters, she might get frustrated. For all I know, if she hadn't had love for skating, she wouldn't have been able to continue and would have quit long before she seriously started her career.

[kittyjake5]

I would like to say that I am surprised by this announcement but this off season has been a drama haven in the skating world. Heck I would not be surprised if Michelle makes an announcement that she is taking a break from Washington, D.C. to coach Yuna. lol

Thank you for the translation of Yuna's press statement. Best Wishes to Yuna on
her comeback, her many fans will be very happy.

[EricRohmer]

She never appeared to like figure skating

I cannot think that this performance is by a skater who doesn't like or even hates(according to some people) skating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7rccqcSzg

[TripleWallie]

From my perspective it seems like she is being pressured into this. I don't believe her heart is in it. I don't know her, never met her, but this sounds like pressure. My take on her OGM was that she did it, it's OVER. She never appeared to like figure skating and was even quoted at age 13/14 that she wanted to quit.
Then again, maybe she has stealthily been practicing, straightening out her legs, learning to point her toes, have better turn-out, etc. Who knows.
At least this makes it a bit more interesting.

Of course she hated figure skating. She was only pressured to skate all her life. It shows in her accomplishments, her performances and her discipline that she never wanted to skate and did it only because mama said so.

[sarcasm, if you didn't get it.]

[Jammers]

Does anyone think that Kim is doing this for any other reason then to hold up figure skating for South Korea since she is still all they have at the moment. She's doing this simply out of obligation to her country not because she really wants to keep competing. Still the quality of skating next season should be much better then what we've seen since the Olympics.

[RunnersHigh]

Does anyone think that Kim is doing this for any other reason then to hold up figure skating for South Korea since she is still all they have at the moment. She's doing this simply out of obligation to her country not because she really wants to keep competing. Still the quality of skating next season should be much better then what we've seen since the Olympics.

When there's other reason, she didn't announce or explain the reason. But this time she held a press conference and explained the reason.


Got motivated to the next goal. People, country and federation were not referred at all.

[arakwafan2006]

I think that if there is anything to be learned from recent comeback attempts, she needs to start training and competing asap. leaving it to the last minute never seems to serve anyone well.

I think that you make the best point. There's something about great atheletes who underestimate what it took to get them in the condition they were in when they won. The only good thing for her is that a half you know what skate can beat the number 1 lady in skating. Still...

[naan]

What a great news!! I'm so excited!
More translations from press conference.
http://yunaforum.com/forum/index.php...dpost&p=103870

[RumbleFish]

Does anyone think that Kim is doing this for any other reason then to hold up figure skating for South Korea since she is still all they have at the moment. She's doing this simply out of obligation to her country not because she really wants to keep competing.

Money and fame.
She already knows what it taste like and wants more perhaps? Of course, there is nothing wrong with this, as it is how our society is put together to begin with.

[a56]

I think she's doing this out of a sense of obligation to her country because of the poor results at the Nice worlds. If this is true, it is disappointing that she keeps giving in to the pressure she probably feels from her federation/country/whomever to keep competing. I hope she realizes that she doesn't owe anything to anyone.

If she is serious, she needs to start training 100% with a coach ASAP. Skip FC and GP/GPF. She should do a minimum of 2 or 3 Senior B competitions in Europe, at least one in the fall and one or two just before Worlds (any GP-participating top skater would participate in a minimum of 3 international events before worlds - 2 GP + GPF). She should be aiming for no less than the gold medal, not just to get 2 spots for the Olympics. Getting another silver or bronze is going to be a pretty disappointing result for her. There needs to be some kind of top reward to justify all that training again, and nothing less than a world title would be satisfactory, I think.

[Eislauffan]

Maybe Nikolai Morozov has given her a call already and offered his service as a coach? ;-)

(This was a joke, and I have no indication whatsoever that he did that or that she is considering him as a coach. I know that many posters here have problems to realize what is a joke, irony or sarcasm).

More seriously, I think that Yuna Kim pretty much most of the time knew what she is doing. I don't believe that she was pressured into this. It came pretty well accross in that statement (thank you for the translation) that she is looking for a comeback to enjoy competing and probably enjoy the Olympic experience more than she did in 2010. Remember, when Katarina Witt came back in 1994? She was not a medal contender with her outdated jump content but she came back to enjoy the experience, something she couldn't really do when she was fighting for gold, competing for the GDR (East Germany) in 1984 and 1988.
Yuna Kim is a very intellligent young lady and she always has been very realistic. She said in that press conference that she knows that she has to get back into shape and I'm sure if (when) she shows up she'll be competitive.
I hope that she can prepare well and I'll be very happy to see her back competing. She'll probably pick one of the later senior B and then go to Nationals and 4CC and Worlds. Great news. :-)

[TripleWallie]

I think she's doing this out of a sense of obligation to her country because of the poor results at the Nice worlds. If this is true, it is disappointing that she keeps giving in to the pressure she probably feels from her federation/country/whomever to keep competing. I hope she realizes that she doesn't owe anything to anyone.

If she is serious, she needs to start training 100% with a coach ASAP. Skip FC and GP/GPF. She should do a minimum of 2 or 3 Senior B competitions in Europe, at least one in the fall and one or two just before Worlds (any GP-participating top skater would participate in a minimum of 3 international events before worlds - 2 GP + GPF). She should be aiming for no less than the gold medal, not just to get 2 spots for the Olympics. Getting another silver or bronze is going to be a pretty disappointing result for her. Three spots are unlikely because that's never happened before, and it all depends on the country's second entry's results.

Korea gets only one entry to Worlds next year, so it's all up to Yuna. She will medal, in all likelihood, as she's always done. It's only the color that's up in the air. If she wins at least silver, Korea gets three tickets to Sochi.

[RumbleFish]

Korea gets only one entry to Worlds next year, so it's all up to Yuna. She will medal, in all likelihood, as she's always done. It's only the color that's up in the air. If she wins at least silver, Korea gets three tickets to Sochi.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. It's way too early to predict anything.

For the upcoming season, she should just concentrate on doing clean programs rather than thinking about color of medals. Take it easy on transitions and choreography, and make sure she has room to breadth between jumping sequences.

Except Olympic season of 2009/2010, she always had problems getting through long programs without running out of gas. If she can skate clean this season, she should be home dry. She will be abled to turn on the heat when she starts to prepare for 2014 Olympic season.