This success bid by Pyeongchang and Yuna playing a key role in that will have a lasting effect on her future career, probably far greater than her winning gold in Vancouver. Being an Oly champion is such a great honor and surely it affects other Koreans and her fans by making them proud, but still it is a personal honor. Succeeding in hosting an event as big as the Olympic games, on the other hand, will affect many people's lives directly. i mean, Winter sports industries will draw more audience and costumers just to say the least. The way people, especially those working for winter sports, perceive Yuna in Korea will change from a girl who skates very well to someone who gave me more work (and still skates fantastically). That is a powerful change in perception, and far more influential for them and also for Yuna herself.
Apolitical South Korea to Host 2018 Winter Olympic Games
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I think that Yu-na will face a lot of pressure from the Korean federation in order to keep skating through 2018. That sounds like a really tall order for a girl who wanted to quit last year, so i think we will see her appear only at the worlds at least through Sochi so Korea keeps their name in the news until the next star comes along.
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Her biggest contribution to the win may not have been through her presentations and support of the bid. I think her success over the last Olympic quad and her OGM in Vancouver changed the perception of Korea's winter sports in the eyes of the IOC. She showed them Korea is no longer just a speed-skating country, but was serious about other winter sports, especially one as remunerative to the IOC as figure skating. She reinforced this view by publicly supporting the bid and traveling with the PyeongChang delegation to the official IOC meetings.
And no, PyeongChang was not guaranteed to win at all. There were several bidders in the past who have tried thrice and still failed. I believe her presence played a big role in PyeongChang's decisive, first-round win this time around. (In previous bids, PyeongChang lost in subsequent rounds.) I also think Yuna's success and her support of the bid gave the Korean delegation a renewed confidence that they could win this third time, despite failing twice before.
Do you really think that if Yuna had never existed, that the bid would have been as successful?
I absolutely agree. Korea wouldn't be perceived as an all-around winter power without Kim's presence. Certainly she shouldn't get all the credit, as R.D. points out. Many people worked tirelessly for probably a decade and more to get this far, including the head of state. But Kim did have more than the usual effect that an athlete would have on this process. She is virtually the only internationally prominent winter athlete from Korea right now (not to belittle the speed skaters, but short-track skating isn't really as widely known as figure skating or skiing). Without her, Korea does not have the weight as a "winter power" that a country such as Italy, Japan, Canada, or Norway has. With her, Korea is a much stronger contender. And she has understood that and made herself available to Korea in any capacity necessary in order to help this national effort. Good for her!
My Korean acquaintance was beaming when I met him this morning. He proudly showed me the Korean-American newspaper, with the group photo of the national delegation (YuNa looking impressive in a crowd of men in black suits). He pointed out that Korea is a small country but has a lot of geographical assets—all four seasons, mountains, seacoast. This is truly a great moment for Korea, and YuNa contributed substantially.
Yuna was the crucial centerpiece of the bidding cause the Pyeongchang team so successfully and convincingly made at the presentation and throughout their bidding effort for the last couple of years. She was the one who held the story together the team was trying to deliver to the IOC members all along. Pyeonchang had a difficult time from not having a winter sport star outside short track (they even had to borrow a foreign athlete from Italy for their 2014 bid presentation) during the last two bids and saw their defeats. The presence of Katarina Witt in the German side would only have pressured them more this time around.
Votewise, I don't see at all Pyeongchang having the 1st round sweep the way they did yesterday without her presence. Most likely the voting would have advanced to the 2nd round between them and the Munich side, a situation which Pyeongchang would have wanted to avoid at all cost considering how they fared in the 2nd round for their two previous attempts.
Lobbyists and politicians can take the bids only to a certain distance. There must be native sports stars who justify these bids, and Yuna was exactly the one who provided that.
Votewise, I don't see at all Pyeongchang having the 1st round sweep the way they did yesterday without her presence. Most likely the voting would have advanced to the 2nd round between them and the Munich side, a situation which Pyeongchang would have wanted to avoid at all cost considering how they fared in the 2nd round for their two previous attempts.
Lobbyists and politicians can take the bids only to a certain distance. There must be native sports stars who justify these bids, and Yuna was exactly the one who provided that.
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Congratulations to Korea for getting the Olympics!
I think it was their time and it was well deserved, but without Yu Na they wouldn't have won so easily at the first round. I mean, they would have won, but perhaps at the second or third turn, not with so many votes in the first.
IMO, Yu Na was important not only because, as you said, she showed that Korea had great winter sports champion outside short track, but also because she was one of the few females in the korean team (at least, among those who were present in Durban, it looks like there were two or three ladies, not so many) and because of her youth and that's could also have had its influence.
Anyway, she was very very good in her speech, congratulations!!!
And I think that yes, she'd stick around until 2014 at least at worlds, trying to go for another medal in Sochi and then she'd do a comeback for 2018, just for being there, it'd be a great emotion to skate in home country and she could do something like Witt '94.
I just hope she skip a season somewhere, because it seems just too tiring and stressful going on until 2014 or 2018, especially since it's also her time to think at herself and other life projects (if that's what she wants).
I think it was their time and it was well deserved, but without Yu Na they wouldn't have won so easily at the first round. I mean, they would have won, but perhaps at the second or third turn, not with so many votes in the first.
IMO, Yu Na was important not only because, as you said, she showed that Korea had great winter sports champion outside short track, but also because she was one of the few females in the korean team (at least, among those who were present in Durban, it looks like there were two or three ladies, not so many) and because of her youth and that's could also have had its influence.
Anyway, she was very very good in her speech, congratulations!!!
And I think that yes, she'd stick around until 2014 at least at worlds, trying to go for another medal in Sochi and then she'd do a comeback for 2018, just for being there, it'd be a great emotion to skate in home country and she could do something like Witt '94.
I just hope she skip a season somewhere, because it seems just too tiring and stressful going on until 2014 or 2018, especially since it's also her time to think at herself and other life projects (if that's what she wants).
It's only fitting.
I don't think a country has to be considered a powerhouse at winning medals to host. They just need to show they are capable of hosting and building the infrastructure. Besides being their third time bidding, it's been a number of cycles since the Olympics were in Asia, and geography is definitely something that's considered when awarding a host. I am sure Kim helped, but I don't think her contribution was the deciding factor.
Precisely.
What was said here, except for the 3rd time bidding part, was exactly the points Pyeongchang bid insisted for their two previous unsuccessful attempts. Besides, statistics suggests a lower probability of a multiple previous bidder winning the bid.
Reports say the Pyeongchang team estimated that they probably secured about 40 to late 40s votes before Yuna was actively involved, which would get them through the 1st round voting but not enough to earn the majority votes because of 20 or so swinging undetermined IOC members. Basically, they figured it could have been the same situation all over; winning the first round, but 2nd round up in the air, the situation they did not want to be in again. Yuna obviously didn't get all the votes herself and there are many who have worked on the bids for the last 10 years, but did she play a crucial role in giving the bid the right cause and convincing the undetermined votes to Pyeongchang's way? Absolutely.
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An interesting tidbit: Korea actually broke through and won medals (including gold) not just in short track but also in speed skating as well. (is "long" track the right way to put it? You know, the discipline dominated by the likes of the Netherlands, Germany and the US (Eric Heiden, Shani Davis), in which the athletes wear the head-to-toe speed suits, including the hoodie. Please forgive the overly technical description that highlights my "expertise" on the subject 
).
What's interesting, though, is that most people either don't realize this or don't bother with the distinction. The point, of course, is that if both these disciplines are so far off the mainstream radar as to be indistinguishable from each other, then the polemic impact is also modest. This is what Yuna brought to the table for the Pyeongchang bid: a recognition and glam factor that would affect even members of African or South American countries who in many cases might not be able to name any other Winter gold medallist, so that her heartfelt and well-crafted message could then do its magic.
I do agree that Yuna was only a piece of the puzzle, but IMO she was an important one. And a hat tip to her for fulfilling her role with passion, total effort and complete commitment. It would have been quite easy for her to take it easy, assuming that her role was just to broadcast charm by her mere presence. But it's clear, just from seeing the quantum leap in her English and presentation skills, that this girl worked hard to do the best job she could possibly do.
As the Aussies would say, good on you, Yuna!
).What's interesting, though, is that most people either don't realize this or don't bother with the distinction. The point, of course, is that if both these disciplines are so far off the mainstream radar as to be indistinguishable from each other, then the polemic impact is also modest. This is what Yuna brought to the table for the Pyeongchang bid: a recognition and glam factor that would affect even members of African or South American countries who in many cases might not be able to name any other Winter gold medallist, so that her heartfelt and well-crafted message could then do its magic.
I do agree that Yuna was only a piece of the puzzle, but IMO she was an important one. And a hat tip to her for fulfilling her role with passion, total effort and complete commitment. It would have been quite easy for her to take it easy, assuming that her role was just to broadcast charm by her mere presence. But it's clear, just from seeing the quantum leap in her English and presentation skills, that this girl worked hard to do the best job she could possibly do.
As the Aussies would say, good on you, Yuna!
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Antilles, I am pointing out many analyses done by both the Pyeongchang team and the international media outlets and also referring to what IOC members, including the president, mentioned regarding what they expected to see from the voting and how unexpected the outcome was. Pyeongchang winning in the first round without going to the 2nd round seemed to have surprised everyone with expertise in the inside IOC matters. Stand by whatever you want to believe.
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An interesting tidbit: Korea actually broke through and won medals (including gold) not just in short track but also in speed skating as well. (is "long" track the right way to put it? You know, the discipline dominated by the likes of the Netherlands, Germany and the US (Eric Heiden, Shani Davis), in which the athletes wear the head-to-toe speed suits, including the hoodie. Please forgive the overly technical description that highlights my "expertise" on the subject
What's interesting, though, is that most people either don't realize this or don't bother with the distinction. The point, of course, is that if both these disciplines are so far off the mainstream radar as to be indistinguishable from each other, then the polemic impact is also modest. This is what Yuna brought to the table for the Pyeongchang bid: a recognition and glam factor that would affect even members of African or South American countries who in many cases might not be able to name any other Winter gold medallist, so that her heartfelt and well-crafted message could then do its magic.
I do agree that Yuna was only a piece of the puzzle, but IMO she was an important one. And a hat tip to her for fulfilling her role with passion, total effort and complete commitment. It would have been quite easy for her to take it easy, assuming that her role was just to broadcast charm by her mere presence. But it's clear, just from seeing the quantum leap in her English and presentation skills, that this girl worked hard to do the best job she could possibly do.
As the Aussies would say, good on you, Yuna!
Well said.
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