Yu-Na Kim wins World Figure Skating Title with World Record

South Korea's Yu-Na Kim shattered the competition Saturday Night at the Staples Center en route to winning the gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships. The previous high score for a female skater was 199.52. Yu-Na posted a score of 207.71 as she became the first Korean skater to win a World Championship. Her Free Skate to Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazad"' was one of the finest programs ever put on ice, and the crowd responded with a standing ovation that seemed to last a lifetime. After her free skate she was flanked by over 20 Korean cameras, many of whom stayed in the United States after the World Baseball Classic just to see her performance. Michelle Kwan described Kim as "dominating'" as she took in the action inside the Staples Center.

The silver medal went to Canadian Joannie Rochette, who overcame some technical issues with an expressive and beautifully choreographed program set to Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez."  Japan's Miki Ando took the bronze after she put on a jumping clinic, landing seven clean triple jumps. Going into the competition, the co-favorite to win, Japan's Mao Asada, fell to fourth after falling on an attempted triple axel.  While Asada was able to recover from the fall, the program lacked spark from that point and it showed in her component (artistic) scores. American Rachael Flatt, who skated in an earlier group, moved up to fifth after a solid program that earned her a standing ovation. European champion Laura Lepisto of Finland rounded out the top six. American Champion Alissa Czisny skated early in the night and recovered from her disastrous short program to earn a standing ovation of her own after a strong free skate. The program pulled her from 14th place up to 11th place.

Only one nation, Japan, earned three Olympic Berths in Vancouver for women's figure skating. Michelle Kwan, who was providing commentary for NBC, continued to hint that she may be interested in making a run at another Olympics. Given that the United States will have only two available spots for women in Vancouver, and Sasha Cohen has also hinted at a possible return to competition, the U.S. may have a fight on its hand for trips to Vancouver.

(Image courtesy of Getty)

Comments

[Brandon]

I love yuna!!!