Kim Yu-na Regains Motivation to Win 2nd World Title

Olympic and world figure skating Kim Yu-na has regained her motivation after getting a bit lax after her historic win in Vancouver last month.

She left Toronto and arrived Monday morning in Turin, Italy, the site of this year’s World Figure Skating Championships. The long flight was tiring and she struggled to adjust to the time difference.

Kim ended up just sleeping a couple of hours in the day.

After dinner, she went to the ice rink where the competition is taking place because she can practice there only that day before the short program starts Friday. With a bright smile, she performed in harmony to a George Gershwin piece and checked the quality of ice.

“Since this is the first and last chance I have to practice on the main rink, I tried to adjust myself to everything as much as I could,” she said.

Though it was 10 p.m., 100 or so fans watched her performance and applauded. Kim returned to her hotel after midnight. The Olympic gold medalist looked pretty much the same as she has, but she briefly lost her motivation.

Her coach Brian Orser told the Associated Press that Kim lost her motivation to compete in this event after the Vancouver Olympics and was unwilling to practice.

"Whether you win or lose, it’s hard. You`ve won the biggest prize in the history of the sport. And then, if you haven’t won, you’re defeated and you have the ‘why bother’ attitude,” he said.

"All the athletes have that," he added. "And I told Yu-na that: `You`re not special.’"

This was the first time Kim lacked the motivation to train before a competition. Orser said it was very tough to prepare for this event, adding Kim would not have known that it was this hard.

Kim confessed her feelings about this event. After practice, she said, “After realizing my dream, the Olympic gold medal, I think I got a little bit loose.”

Orser said, however, that Kim is at “medium simmer” but will turn up the heat in the Turin competition.

creating@donga.com