Any chance Yu-Na Kim competes in Pyeongchang 2018?

Rachmaninoff · Feb 15, 2014

aragray said:
i watched a recent documentary on yuna, and she said she regretted her decision to come back to competitive skating in 2013 because practicing was difficult, or something along the lines of that, so i doubt she will choose to comeback yet again. well at least that's what the subtitles told me lol http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO74wiYBfwM

Yeah, I remember an interview with her before that, after winning in 2010 but before deciding to stick around for 2014, where she didn't sound all that enthused about the idea of continuing to train and compete. I had the impression her mother was pushing her to continue.

Saying she likely won't be motivated to skate in a third Olympics is no slam on her. There's no reason she has to be. If she wants to move on with her life after this, that's fine.

andyjo24 · Feb 15, 2014

She has already gifted us with the Sochi Olympics. There is no reason she should gift us any more. I personally would love to see her compete more, but she should make her own decisions.

sporkwhatspork · Feb 15, 2014

Ha it would probably be much harder for even a much improved Julia to beat granny Yu Na in Korea than it will be for her right now to beat Yu Na in Russia (which I still highly doubt she will pull off). Anyway there is no saying Julia will even be able to keep her jumps and current level once she goes through puberty which she hasnt even begun yet.

I want to share your optimism! I guess I'm a pessimist at heart haha. And I did allow for the possibility of the puberty monster attacking her!

But I remember Yuna saying that even now she feels like she's only 65% as healthy as she used to be when she was starting out? Or that she's only 65% as flexible? Something along those lines? (I know she's never been the most flexible anyway, but still.) Figure skating has already taken its toll on her body. As much as I love seeing her skate, I don't want to see her continuing to push herself like that if it's really not what she wants to do.

Robeye · Feb 15, 2014

Ziggy said:
I wonder whether she is going to be directly involved with that. Whether through some coaching/mentoring or just spending some of her huge fortune on helping develop the South Korean skating program.

I'd say there's a distinct possiblity that she will play a major role after she retires. From what I hear, Yuna's contributions of time and money in mentoring Korean skaters is already substantial. She looks like she really enjoys taking young Korean skaters under her wing.

Barb · Feb 15, 2014

If the judging continue as now and Russia has the balls to get OGM to Julia so Korea should be the same with Yuna in Korea, at least it would be more realistic

AsadaFanBoy · Feb 16, 2014

If she decides to do the Olympics again after Sochi, I see her doing it for other reasons rather than going for the gold. For example, she could dedicate her performance to unifying North and South Korea. She could be a serious contender for bronze.

Win or lose in Sochi, she's got nothing left to prove. I'm so grateful for the beautiful skating she's done through the years.

spinfin · Feb 17, 2014

I doubt she'll have any motivation to compete in 2018. If she were to win gold at Sochi, coming out of retirement 4 years later would make for a great story.

What FS needs is some boxing style trash talking. The next generation of skaters will have new stars by then, with nothing bad to say of former idols. How about Julia calling out Yuna for PyeongChang, calling her over the hill and overrated? I'd love some real drama and bad blood, but that's just me=D

Robeye · Feb 17, 2014

spinfin said:
I doubt she'll have any motivation to compete in 2018. If she were to win gold at Sochi, coming out of retirement 4 years later would make for a great story.

What FS needs is some boxing style trash talking. The next generation of skaters will have new stars by then, with nothing bad to say of former idols. How about Julia calling out Yuna for PyeongChang, calling her over the hill and overrated? I'd love some real drama and bad blood, but that's just me=D

This kind of thing only works when (as in boxing) there is serious dinero involved, like maybe 20 million bucks. Otherwise, a skater would have to be on crack to intentionally bait a very pissed off former Olympic champion back into the rink. :scratch:

:laugh:

vegarin · Feb 17, 2014

Robeye said:
This kind of thing only works when (as in boxing) there is serious dinero involved, like maybe 20 million bucks. Otherwise, a skater would have to be on crack to intentionally bait a very pissed off former Olympic champion back into the rink. :scratch:

Also, FS takes a long prep, and also at least a season long to build up your PCS and whatnot (unless ISU decides to apply rules selectively on a whim

). You can't simply go on a match on a whim with just a few months of practice, not even Yuna Kim.

Robeye · Feb 17, 2014

vegarin said:
Also, FS takes a long prep, and also at least a season long to build up your PCS and whatnot (unless ISU decides to apply rules selectively on a whim ). You can't simply go on a match on a whim with just a few months of practice, not even Yuna Kim.

I am assuming that the trash-talking would start at least a year in advance, maybe two.

Boxing's buildup takes a while to build a head of steam, too.

vegarin · Feb 17, 2014

Robeye said:
I am assuming that the trash-talking would start at least a year in advance, maybe two. Boxing's buildup takes a while to build a head of steam, too.

Hee. I didn't mean to make light of boxing -- I'm sure it's equally hell on body and mind. I sure as heck wouldn't want to try. :biggrin:

If Yuna ever wants to come back again, it's completely up to her, and I'm sure she'll do her very best on ice if she decides to return. But she's made it pretty clear she will be retiring and that would be that. She's already a great mentor doing everything to help the junior skaters right now, so hopefully that would help ensure that there wouldn't be any reason for her to make a comeback in 2017 other than of her own volition.

Andre Smith · Feb 18, 2014

desertskates said:
She's battled a lot of nagging injuries.

That is quite paradoxical. We do sports for health but it hurts instead. I wish FS could be a health-enhancing sports. Do we need some innovation in the skate design like adding more cushion and safety materials?

Skater Boy · Feb 18, 2014

I can't see it; she has nothing to prove and the motivation may behard and the body not so willing. As for Julia I suspect she may not survive more than a year or so - her body could change a lot - rightnow she doesn't appear to have gone through puberty so I am not sure her jumps will make it. We should enjoy her now because shemight be like Tara Lipinski only more sophisticated.

anyanka · Feb 18, 2014

She'll likely be enjoying a very, VERY high-up position with the PyeongChang organizing committee (if she isn't already) and will be expected to attend numerous IOC functions, media events, and the like. She won't have time to train. She'll essentially be royalty. So I doubt she'll compete. Heck, I can picture her hanging out with Kate Middleton, Nicole Kidman (Omega brand spokesperson) and Michelle Kwan at the ladies free skate, in the VIP section, watching Yulia fight it out with Gracie for the 2018 title.

RiceSkate · Feb 18, 2014

lol she has no motivation now. I don't think we'll see here in 2018.

BlackPack · Feb 18, 2014

It's possible. She would be about 28 in 2018. If she stays healthy, if being the operative word. Sports medicine has advanced to the point that skaters used to retire in their early 20s; quite a few have remained till their 30s.

She could do the same thing as the past quad; come back the year before the Olympics to test herself and her competition.

skatingfan20 · Feb 18, 2014

If she is only going to be 28 and healthy, she could come back! She might make her decision based on strength of the women's field at the time. That would be a great story for South Koreans as she is so loved there.

Andre Smith · Feb 18, 2014

figspec2NE1 said:
Pardon me for being a possible figure skating idiot, but she's only 23. I think she can take a medal on home turf.

As another figure skating dummy, I also wonder if age 27 (Yu-Na in the next Olympics) is too old to continue to play.

moviechick · Feb 18, 2014

Irina Slutskaya was 27 in Torino. I mean, it's not totally crazy. It's certainly more in the realm of normal than 31 year-old Plushenko still being around and doing quads. I don't think she will have the motivation to continue though.

Andre Smith · Feb 19, 2014

moviechick said:
I don't think she will have the motivation to continue though.

Yu-Na, like her young peer generations, might easily live up to 100 years in age. In other words, she IS young and must feel young, which IMO is an enough motivation to live hard at her age rather than retire early.

Any chance Yu-Na Kim competes in Pyeongchang 2018?

Rachmaninoff

andyjo24

sporkwhatspork

Robeye

Barb

AsadaFanBoy

spinfin

Robeye

vegarin

Robeye

vegarin

Andre Smith

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Skater Boy

anyanka

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BlackPack

skatingfan20

Andre Smith

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Andre Smith

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