VANCOUVER – Kim Yuna may have been trying to ruffle Mao Asada’s feathers ahead of Thursday’s Olympic showdown when she left her final practice session early with the message she had done all the training she needed to win gold.
Wearing an electric blue dress, the 19-year-old South Korean figure skater landed all her jumps when she rehearsed her free programme hours before the competition where she hopes to build on the comfortable lead she has from Tuesday’s short programme.
"Our training is done, we don’t need to train anymore," her coach Brian Orser told reporters.
If main rival Asada was bothered by her confidence she did not show it as the only ruffles in sight were those on her red and black dress, with the Japanese skater landing several of her trademark triple Axels without breaking a sweat.
With 78.50 points, Yuna leads Asada by 4.72. Canada’s Joannie Rochette is third with 71.36 and will again have to battle her emotions when she skates for a medal just four days after her mother’s sudden death.
Yuna is favoured to win the title as the world champion and winner of all but one competition over the last two years.
As the highest-earning female athlete at the Winter Games, she has the most to lose if she does not bring home the gold.
Many of her deals expire this year and may not be renewed if the most recognisable female athlete in South Korea fails to live up to expectations, marketing experts said this week.
Failure is not even being considered in the Yuna camp.
"We don’t even discuss it. We just don’t go there," said Orser.
"She’s very positive and as long as nobody panics … I’m a strong believer that you can just count on your average, if your average is quite high, you can always count on that. Her average is enough."
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.