Skating 'queen' Kim set to return (Threads merged)

[Sylvia]

"Tomorrow Comes for Yuna": http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2...omes-for-yuna/

[ratatouille]

Yuna is back and her bots are back too !

[taf2002]

A new German article about NRW Trophy that starts today:
http://www.derwesten.de/sport/lokals...id7359078.html (entire article)

Yuna arrives today, and is physically in very good shape - about 80~90% of her Vancounver condition according to her interview. All signs are indicating that the Queen is really back.

"Jewgeni Plusheko"? I've never seen anyone else ever call him this.

Has anyone actually seen what Yuna can do now? How many comeback skaters say that they aren't competitive any longer? She says 80% of Vancouver...she can say whatever percentage she wants but until she competes neither she nor anyone else really knows. And the fact that she didn't UR or that she did great 3/3's almost 3 yrs ago doesn't mean squat now. But good for Dortmund that she sold some tickets for them.

[l'etoile]

Yuna is back and her bots are back too !

What a way to ruin the amicable air. Granted, they go overboard sometimes, but comments like this really make Yuna fans unwelcome here. Even when there have been no OTT, 'bot'-like comments here.

Has anyone actually seen what Yuna can do now? How many comeback skaters say that they aren't competitive any longer? She says 80% of Vancouver...she can say whatever percentage she wants but until she competes neither she nor anyone else really knows. And the fact that she didn't UR or that she did great 3/3's almost 3 yrs ago doesn't mean squat now.

True. This weekend will be really interesting for many aspects!

[antmanb]

"Jewgeni Plusheko"? I've never seen anyone else ever call him this.

It will be the transliteration from Cyrillic to the German as it's a German newspaper article - if you pronounce the "j" and the "w" as you would in German you get Yevgeni.

[genevieve]

let's keep the racial slurs out of this, mkay?

[kwanfan1818]

"Jewgeni Plusheko"? I've never seen anyone else ever call him this.

It will be the transliteration from Cyrillic to the German as it's a German newspaper article - if you pronounce the "j" and the "w" as you would in German you get Yevgeni.

Exactly. It might be the same as in Polish. It looks like a slur to English-speakers, but it's standard spelling in other languages.

[Carolla5501]

What a way to ruin the amicable air. Granted, they go overboard sometimes, but comments like this really make Yuna fans unwelcome here. Even when there have been no OTT, 'bot'-like comments here.



True. This weekend will be really interesting for many aspects!

Are you being at all realistic? It's FSU and you want "nice" LOL!

[essence_of_soy]

Good that she's getting in a few competitions before Four Continents and Worlds. I remember thinking when Kim skated in Moscow, how she was a little rusty.

[AxelAnnie]

Well, "comebacks" always make me sad. I saw Yu-Na win her World Title in Los Angeles. Stunning! I was amazed and awed by her performances in Vancouver.

That being said, here is what makes me sad. They can't come back. Is there a single skater, and OGM winner who has "come back"? Especially Yu-na. Don't get me wrong, I would love to watch her skate again. What went into creating the skater who put together those two winning performances IMHO, cannot be duplicated. Yu-Na lived in a bubble, and was totally focused, and completely relieved of any other responsibilities. Now she has had a couple of years of being a normal human (albeit a very wealthy and revered woman).....I don't think it is possible to return and/or re-create who you were or how you got there. It is that "How you going to keep 'em down on the farm.........."

It is one thing to be devoid of the normal freedom of life when you know nothing else....but I think it is way too hard to shut it off and out once you have experienced it.

Hope I am wrong. Because I hate it when a sports figure stays too long at the fair, or tries to compete after they should.

[taf2002]

What a way to ruin the amicable air. Granted, they go overboard sometimes, but comments like this really make Yuna fans unwelcome here. Even when there have been no OTT, 'bot'-like comments here.

If you haven't seen any "bot-like" comments it's because you haven't read the whole thread. But I've never seen anything to make me think that Yuna-FANS aren't welcomed here.

[Vash01]

Well, "comebacks" always make me sad. I saw Yu-Na win her World Title in Los Angeles. Stunning! I was amazed and awed by her performances in Vancouver.

That being said, here is what makes me sad. They can't come back. Is there a single skater, and OGM winner who has "come back"? Especially Yu-na. Don't get me wrong, I would love to watch her skate again. What went into creating the skater who put together those two winning performances IMHO, cannot be duplicated. Yu-Na lived in a bubble, and was totally focused, and completely relieved of any other responsibilities. Now she has had a couple of years of being a normal human (albeit a very wealthy and revered woman).....I don't think it is possible to return and/or re-create who you were or how you got there. It is that "How you going to keep 'em down on the farm.........."

It is one thing to be devoid of the normal freedom of life when you know nothing else....but I think it is way too hard to shut it off and out once you have experienced it.

Hope I am wrong. Because I hate it when a sports figure stays too long at the fair, or tries to compete after they should.

Plushenko came back, after being away 3.5 years, and won the Olympic silver (just missed the OGM), at aage 27!

Yu na is not that old. She can make a comeback, after being away for just 2 seasons.

[liv]

I didn't get the hype with her either, I always preferred Mao. That being said, she is a world and Olympic champion, so if she is up to her old standards, she is in the mix for sure. Good luck to her becuase that means more drama for the rest of us!!!!

[naan]

Yuna is back and her bots are back too !

With Yuna haters and some other bots...


From NRW facebook page

You asked for a livestream? No Problem for us. The team of NRW Trophy 2012 is happy to announce that we offer a livestream from friday evening (Pairs Short Program) until Sunday evening. The livestream can be found at Pop-Radio.de and can be watched all over the world apart from Korea, Japan, USA and North America. We hope you enjoy watching NRW Trophy 2012 from home. To make it easy for you to use the livestream the team of Pop-Radio offers an instruction in german and english. Have fun!

[UMBS Go Blue]

Plushenko came back, after being away 3.5 years, and won the Olympic silver (just missed the OGM), at aage 27!

Yu na is not that old. She can make a comeback, after being away for just 2 seasons.

EYS. Not to mention it's really more like a break of just 1 or 1.5 seasons for Yuna given that her last comp was 2011 Worlds, sat out 2012 Worlds, and has been quietly getting back up to speed over Fall 2012.

Also, given the lack of depth in ladies' skating today and the fact that the other main contenders aren't really pushing the envelope, Yuna would easily do well even if she gets back to only 90% of her Vancouver abilities (she says she's 80% now).

[lowtherlore]

Well, "comebacks" always make me sad. I saw Yu-Na win her World Title in Los Angeles. Stunning! I was amazed and awed by her performances in Vancouver.

That being said, here is what makes me sad. They can't come back. Is there a single skater, and OGM winner who has "come back"? Especially Yu-na. Don't get me wrong, I would love to watch her skate again. What went into creating the skater who put together those two winning performances IMHO, cannot be duplicated. Yu-Na lived in a bubble, and was totally focused, and completely relieved of any other responsibilities. Now she has had a couple of years of being a normal human (albeit a very wealthy and revered woman).....I don't think it is possible to return and/or re-create who you were or how you got there. It is that "How you going to keep 'em down on the farm.........."

It is one thing to be devoid of the normal freedom of life when you know nothing else....but I think it is way too hard to shut it off and out once you have experienced it.

Hope I am wrong. Because I hate it when a sports figure stays too long at the fair, or tries to compete after they should.

Those are reasonable concerns.

Before making the return, Yu-Na said on several occasions that she was hesitant because she couldn’t enjoy the pressure coming from the huge expectations and that she wasn’t sure if she could go back to the monotone life bared down to repetitions, endurance and determination (though IMO this part was sort of self-inflicted by her own damned work ethic). In making the comeback announcement she said, bottom line, she would be regretful later in her life if she quit at a young, eligible age. I thought that made a lot of sense.

Yesterday, she said she had set her mind to lower her own expectation, and that made her relaxed more and her training more enjoyable. That’s a good sign, and it feels that she will follow up until Sochi. In a similar context, all these doubts (about the prospect of her repeat) would be actually relieving to her, my guess. She may not win them all like before, but it’s likely she will be fairly successful with her comeback if she stay healthy (knock, knock). Seeing her competitive programs for two more seasons is just a huge bonus for the fans like me and for the sport IMO, whether she’s winning or not.

[EricRohmer]

Well said, lowtherlore.

Because Yuna lowered her own expectation, I as a fan would lower expectation though being difficult.
I would enjoy her extended career like as a gift.

[Japanfan]

I think you’re mistaken. She's RENTING additional ice time at a nearby practice rink. And it’s reasonable for her to arrange for a shuttle van since she has some company (a group of nine including her coaches). I assume she’s paying for that too.

And why would she need a team of nine to come to the rink with her?

Perhaps:

1 coach
1 choreographer
1 hair stylist
1 make-up artist
1 costume person
1 photographer
2 bodyguards
1 sports psychologist

[l'etoile]

And why would she need a team of nine to come to the rink with her?

Perhaps:

1 coach
1 choreographer
1 hair stylist
1 make-up artist
1 costume person
1 photographer
2 bodyguards
1 sports psychologist

Makeup artist, hair stylist, photographer? What kind of person do you take Yuna for?

Two coaches,
her agent,
a couple of translaters,
her physical therapist,
one federation personnel,
two other Korean skaters who are competing at NRW trophy,
and Yuna herself.

I might be wrong but that is pretty much what you would expect for Yuna with eight companies.

[AxelAnnie]

Those are reasonable concerns.

Before making the return, Yu-Na said on several occasions that she was hesitant because she couldn’t enjoy the pressure coming from the huge expectations and that she wasn’t sure if she could go back to the monotone life bared down to repetitions, endurance and determination (though IMO this part was sort of self-inflicted by her own damned work ethic). In making the comeback announcement she said, bottom line, she would be regretful later in her life if she quit at a young, eligible age. I thought that made a lot of sense.

Yesterday, she said she had set her mind to lower her own expectation, and that made her relaxed more and her training more enjoyable. That’s a good sign, and it feels that she will follow up until Sochi. In a similar context, all these doubts (about the prospect of her repeat) would be actually relieving to her, my guess. She may not win them all like before, but it’s likely she will be fairly successful with her comeback if she stay healthy (knock, knock). Seeing her competitive programs for two more seasons is just a huge bonus for the fans like me and for the sport IMO, whether she’s winning or not.

A
Hey thanks for the great post. iI feel better now. I will it will be thrilling to watch. And I think this will help me enjoy it as a gift Nd not a sttuggle