The New York Times has a great story on Kim Yu-na, the reigning world figure skating champion who’ll compete for Olympic gold starting Feb. 23.
At the age of 15, the South Korean ice darling left her home country to work with choreographer David Wilson in Toronto. According to the Times, it was the turning point of her career:
“Her coach said to me back then that Yu-na wanted to be a happy skater, so that’s what we started working on,” said Wilson, whose goal was to change Kim from a stone-faced skater to one who oozed emotion. “I remember even having to teach her how to hug me because she was so shy. She was always so stiff, like a telephone pole.”
She has since “summoned her inner diva” and will be skating to a James Bond medley in her short program and to George Gershwin’s Concerto in F in her long program. We can’t wait to cheer her on.
