I didn’t realize until today that a moderator has unlocked this thread today or yesterday, so, I am re-posting an edited version of my original post to follow the guidelines of staying on topic. I have no idea exactly who posted what after I posted my last two comments that got deleted along with others’, but hopefully, we won’t give the moderators any more reasons to delete our comments again when we differ on each of our views on this topic.
Again, why was what Korean "onlookers" said about her lately any worse than what was said about her during controversies in the past (some which were way worse than anything that happened in the last year)? It wasn't. Therefore, why would Yu-Na care so much that it triggered a decision to commit herself to full-time training and competing for 2 years?
Again, you really didn’t read what I wrote carefully enough from the very beginning ‘cause I really don’t know how you were able to come up with the retort that you did when I was referring to ONE specific comment that was commonly made by Koreans for a few months before Yuna announced her decision last Monday.
I didn't miss what you said about the decision being influenced by Korean onlookers and what they said about her and not the controversy itself, but that's a very minor distinction (what they said about her was triggered by the controversy, so it is impossible to separate the two). I also don't see much justification for why you believe she was "greatly influenced" by the Korean people. Yu-Na appreciates their support, and at times had expressed a need for distance from them, but I don't recall that she was ever greatly influenced by them in her major decision making or goal setting in the past.
She made it clear in her pursuit of the OGM that she was skating for herself first--and some people actually took that quote out of context to assume she didn't care about her country.
Exactly and I, for one, felt so relieved and happy to hear her say that at the time ‘cause that’s really the truth for all athletes and that’s how it should always be ‘cause sports are just sports. It’s not like athletes are soldiers who sacrifice their lives to fight for their countries in wars and it’s a pity that soldiers and police officers get not even one tenth of a recognition that athletes like Yuna get. World-class athletes became who they are first and foremost because they are good at and love what they do and we hear stories about how athletes change their citizenship for one reason or another just a few years before the Olympics all the time.
If female figure skating didn’t look so eye-catching with very slim physically fit young ladies wearing much skin-baring pretty costumes and all, I have a feeling, Yuna’s popularity in Korea would be at about the same level as that of female speed and short track skating Olympic champions. I say this because reporters and fans alike seem to focus so much on how her body looks. What other country reporters devote so much of their time writing article after article about the measurements and proportions of a female athlete’s body? LOL!
I don’t see much justification for why you believe she was “greatly influenced” by the Korean people.
That’s perfectly fine, but apparently, I am definitely not the only person who believes that about her:
Finally, a clear-cut position is out. For many fans who have speculated a zillion times over whether they would see the graceful technician on ice once again on a competitive stage, the news was like long-awaited rain. Never mind that a recent spate of controversies over a beer commercial, and allegations over the sincerity of her teaching practice at a girls’ high school in May could have prompted her to take a firm position.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/07/164_114441.html
Her clear position came too late ― at least for my taste ― but then again, the fault here may well lie in the ignorant masses’ greed to know everything about a public figure and their unrealistic desire to put the public figures to the highest moral bar. Kim has admitted that after earning gold in Vancouver, she couldn’t find a bigger goal and that she experienced an emotional letdown. She said she found inspiration from younger skaters to return to competition.
This belated confession, however late, is appreciated. It allows us to understand why there was such dillydallying on her part in committing herself fully either to a competitive career or a professional one by performing in ice shows.
And just because I quoted this writer’s opinions doesn’t mean I agree with everything she published here for I would’ve been fine if Yuna had not announced her decision this early in the summer.
http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2012/07/03/south-korean-figure-skater-yu-na-targets-russia-olympic-gold/
“I skipped last season and had a lot on my mind about my career, even until last week. I had trouble finding my next goal after winning a gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics but the interest of the public and my fans in me got even bigger.”
She added, “I wanted to get away from the pressure, even for a single day.”
Last month, she hinted that she was near a decision on her future. “I’ve more or less set my career plan,” she told reporters before an ice show in Shanghai.
And the controversy took place right before she went to Shanghai.
South Korea is not a communist country, so your point is...?
If you missed the point that I thought was very obvious, I don't think expounding on it further will do any better.
Yu-Na faced unbearable pressure going into the 2010 Olympics for more than a year, but she never walked away from it, no matter what her struggles were. She had a goal and a plan and she stuck to it. She needed a break after the Olympics and she's had it. It's not unimaginable that with that long break, she's found some time to breathe and recuperate and prepare mentally, and feels she can face that pressure again.
I already said I hope you are right about the reasons why Yuna decided to compete again in case you missed that, but like you, I have my own reasons for believing the things I do.
She doesn’t love the intense expectation that she win all the time.
If I had heard Yuna say those exact words when she was giving interviews before her latest press conference, I would not have posted anything here at all. I believe she doesn’t enjoy competing as much as she has said she doesn’t because she has actually said them in her own words and when she asked her countrymen to just think of her as an athlete and not as a defending Olympic champion when she competes at Sochi at her latest press conference, I don’t think that necessarily means she hated feeling pressured by them at the last Olympics ‘cause like you said, Yuna made it clear that she was skating for herself first and I really don’t think she could’ve given such two perfect performances on the biggest stage for figure skaters if she let such pressure get to her. Like I said before, I believe the pressure to win comes from no other place, but from within an athlete’s self ‘cause what athletes don't want to win and gain the benefits of their victory?
Again, you're extrapolating and generalizing a bit too much. She doesn't love the intense expectation that she win all the time. That's not to say that she hates competing all the time, ever. As I said, she enjoys many other side benefits of competing. She always said her dream was to be a skater who will be remembered, who will touch your heart. She couldn't achieve that dream, or the dream of being an Olympic champion, without competing.
Michelle said she loved competing, but there were times when it certainly looked like she didn't. When she wept after coming off the ice for the 1998 Olympics FS? How about 2002 Olympics? Yes, she said she loved competing, but she took breaks as well, skipping the GP in 1998-1999 (and in later seasons). A skater who says she loves competing doesn't love every moment of it. A skater who says she dislikes the pressure of competition enjoys other aspects of competing.
How am I “extrapolating and generalizing too much” when I was relaying what Yuna has actually said? I guess we just don’t think alike on these things ‘cause IMO, Michelle Kwan crying after her LP at her first Olympics was tears of joy and relief of knowing that she skated two programs perfectly free of mistakes and her tears after skating her 2002 Olympics exhibition program were the tears of disappointment that her dream of becoming an Olympic champion was shattered for the second time. Sure, Michelle didn’t enjoy the heartaches her Olympic results brought her, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she didn’t mean what she said when she told her interviewers time after time how she has no regrets and how much she enjoyed every minute of competing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Michelle even said that she loves the pressure she feels during competitions, no? I think that is one of the major reasons why she chose to pursue a different career path instead of choosing to skate at ice shows like so many other skaters do. Pardon my extensive post, but I had to be as specific as possible to help you understand where my beliefs are coming from.
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), I have to jump in here. Posts giving advice to the moderators about how the management of the forum can be improved belong in the Feedback folder, please.
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