Kim Yu-na clinches her first World Championship title
Kim Yu-Na took the gold at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday with an overwhelming victory in the free skate.
The 18-year-old, recording 131.59 points in the free skate of the championship held at Staples Center, Los Angeles, topped the overall standing with 207.71 points. Kim became the first to receive over 200 points in the women's single event.
“To perform this well at the World Championships was my dream," said Kim, who earned 45,000 dollars in prize money. "I did it here and it is just amazing."
''I'm sure the whole globe shook,'' said Kim's coach, two-time Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser. ''The whole country of Korea must be elated.''
Canadian Joannie Rochette registered 191.29 to rank second, while Japanese Miki Ando, the 2007 world champion, finished third with 190.38.
Saturday's win is Kim's first world championship title since she appeared in the senior stage in 2007. She obtained two bronze medals in the 2007 and 2008 world championship tournaments.
Kim, who received a record 76.12 points at the short program on Friday, entered the free skate at the top with an 8.22-point lead over Rochette.
The Four Continents champion skated to Rimskii-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" and earned high marks for her trademark triple flip-triple toe loop combination jump and flawless triple lutz and double axels. She also performed dazzling spins and spirals.
The only blemish was a triple salchow she bailed out on and turned into a single salchow.
Canada's Rochette also skated a superb routine, attempting six triple jumps. She landed all but a triple loop and had another slight wobble on a triple Lutz.
Heading into the Worlds, Japan's Asada was considered Kim's main rival. Kim won the Four Continents Championship last month in Vancouver and Asada won the ISU Grand Prix in South Korea in December.
They had been going head-to-head over the past year but Asada faded in Los Angeles and never really posed a threat to Kim, who just keeps setting the bar higher each time out.
Her rival, Mao Asada of Japan, the 2008 world champion, earned 122.03 points in the long program to come in fourth with 188.09 points. She made a crucial mistake on her second triple axel jump.
''I was thinking about being a champion again, but instead of thinking about that, I needed to have concentrated on completing my elements,'' said Asada, who had clearly been crying.
(from news reports)
2009.03.29

( from the Korean newspaper)