Any chance Yu-Na Kim competes in Pyeongchang 2018? | Golden Skate

Any chance Yu-Na Kim competes in Pyeongchang 2018?

Andre Smith

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Yu-Na says Sochi will be her last place of competition. But she, still young, can be fabulous in performance in just 4 years and she can benefit greatly from the home advantage. So, why not competing again?
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Yu-Na says Sochi will be her last place of competition. But she, still young, can be fabulous in performance in just 4 years and she can benefit greatly from the home advantage. So, why not competing again?

She's already done everything she needs to prove. In fact, she doesn't even need a 2nd gold to prove she's one of the best of all time. Winning on home ice would be great, but I anticipate an increase in the level of female skaters over this next quadrennial now that 3-3 has become the standard, 3-3 done cleanly will become the standard and Kim will be pressed to repeat any former glory.
 

gmyers

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
I am predicting she is there to compete. And she will do well but not medal.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
That would be beyond cool, but I think Yuna will be far too busy serving on various councils and committees, coordinating media coverage, and in general being the face of the Pyeongchang Olympics. Not to mention lighting the torch. :)
 

pangtongfan

Match Penalty
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
I honestly think there is a good chance she will. I do think it is far more likely she is there than many skaters who havent 100% officially announced their retirement yet such as:

Kozuka
Chan
Megan Duhamel
Davis & White
Capellini & Lanotte
Aliona Savchenko
Suzuki (or maybe she did formally announce retiring, I didnt hear if she did)
Machida
Barazova & Larionov
Kavaguti & Smirnov
Denney & Coughlin
Kostner

and many others
 

sky_fly20

Match Penalty
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Yuna is the eqivalent of the female Plushenko
she can almost come back at any given quadrennial
 

aftertherain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Can we just get through the ladies' event next week before asking these kinds of questions (again)?
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Any chance Belousova/Protopopov could make a comeback for Almaty 2022? I think they still have so much to give!
 

CNY_Skater

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Given that Akiko(28, 29 next month) and Caro(27) is still very much in medal contention this Olympic, I am sure YNK can be physically fit in 2018 as well. AND I BET there will be some politicking attemps made by P'Chang Olympic preparation committee and the Korean skating federation to get Yuna compete again. The real question is if she can find motivation to come back from supposed retirement. In that regard, Mao will have much more reasons to come back if she doesn't win OGM this time around.
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
It seems to me that she doesn't have a lot of motivation right now (it's more like a sense of duty perhaps?) so I can't imagine her having enough to do a comeback in four years.
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
She's battled a lot of nagging injuries. I think we'll see her there in some other capacity.

Agreed. I'm sure at some point she will strongly consider it like Kwan did for 2010, but will ultimately decline. I don't think it is very fun for anyone to face the pressure of being expected to win every event that you enter, and her age and injuries will add to the list of challenges over the next four years.
 

figspec2NE1

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Pardon me for being a possible figure skating idiot, but she's only 23. I think she can take a medal on home turf.
 

jkun

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 16, 2013
I think there is close to zero chance of Yuna skating at PC 2018. Why would she? She has more than proven herself already. But I do think she will be pressured by the Korean fed and the nation, especially if Korea somehow loses all three of its ladies skating spots in the next 4 years. I think if they are close to losing all three spots there will be pressure for Kim to go to worlds and guarantee spots for Korea.

Obviously, I hope she is able to do what she wants and not be pressured by others who have constantly asked so much of her.
 

sporkwhatspork

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 10, 2010
I'm sure the Korean skating fed will try to pressure her, but I hope Yuna sticks to her guns and says no. I think she's been over the pressures involved with elite competition for a while now, and the only reason she's competing now is because she feels a sense of responsibility towards her country and the future of Korean skating. But it's not Yuna's fault that the Korean fed has been absolutely horrible at supporting/nurturing any nascent figure skating talent. They made their bed, so let them lie in it. Yuna should just tell them to stuff it. She probably won't, though.

Plus, even if Yuna comes out on top in Sochi (fingers crossed!), with the way Yulia's been coming along, I really don't think she could keep her top dog status in Pyeongchang. Yulia will be an absolute beast in 2018, assuming that the puberty monster doesn't attack her. I think Yuna could still be competitive, but with all that pressure on her to come in first, and the idea that anything less than gold is a failure...she's dealt with that long enough. Let her breathe.
 

vegarin

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Pardon me for being a possible figure skating idiot, but she's only 23. I think she can take a medal on home turf.

She will be 27 by then. That's "old" by ladies skating standard, at least competitive skating wise. Men may be able to stay longer, but only just, I think. It wasn't easy for Plushy to come back this time, and he was an unusually successful case at that. Someone else may be able to explain it better.
 

sporkwhatspork

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 10, 2010
Jeremy Abbott is 28. Of course, Jeremy's a terrible headcase, but I think he's still in good shape as far as physical fitness goes?

And Akiko's 28 too. But she's not a strong medal contender if the team event is any indication.
 

Rachmaninoff

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
It's not just about age; she also has to have the drive. I wasn't sure she'd continue after 2010. Most gold medalists seem to have a hard time finding the drive in them for another Olympics.

I'd be surprised to see her competing there. Not saying it's impossible, but I'd be surprised.
 
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