The Korean Wave 2010-2011 - Korean Cultural Service

The New York Times, Saturday, February 27, 2010D1, D4Kim Raises Bar,Delighting FansBy JERÉ LONGMANSp or t sin The New York TimesVANCOUVER, British ColumbiaDressed in azure, accompanied by Gershwin,Kim Yu-na of South Korea seemingly floatedto the clouds with her soaring jumps andairy elegance Thursday night, winning an Olympicgold medal and her rightful place as one of the greatestwomen’s figure skaters of any era.Demonstrating technical superiority and ethereal graceat 19, Kim delivered a world-record performance of228.56 total points. Math alone cannot fully describethe resourcefulness, complexity and artistry of her skating,except in this context: Kim would have finishedninth in the men’s competition, nearly 10 points aheadof the American national champion, Jeremy Abbott.Mao Asada of Japan became the first woman to landtwo triple axels in a free skate at the Winter Games,but she still finished a distant second by more than 20points. Even before Asada skated, she knew that herchances for gold were futile after Kim’s refined andcharming performance.“I could hear the crowd going crazy,” Asada said.77