Kim Yuna will miss the 2011-12 Grand Prix

Kim Yuna will miss the 2011-12 Grand Prix Reigning Olympic gold medalist Yu-na Kim of South Korea will not compete this season,
Kim told reporters today that she is giving herself a longer break from competitive skating, saying, “After the Vancouver Olympics last year, it’s been a whirlwind of activities on top of all the preparations for competitions. I felt I needed to take a breather.”
So that is that. So now there is no Miki Ando and no Yu-na Kim this year. Chances are good we’ll get a brand new world champ this season and it will be interesting watching it. I feel like spectators are always missing out when Kim decides not to compete, however. If she does come back, I hope she does the whole season next time and not just worlds. No word yet on whether Kim is actually retiring.
Figure skater Kim Yu-na to sit out entire season
INCHEON, Oct. 18 (Yonhap) — Figure skater Kim Yu-na said Tuesday she will sit out the entire 2010-11 season but denied she was retiring from the sport.
“I’ve decided not to enter any event this upcoming season,” Kim told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, upon returning from her training camp in Los Angeles. “After the Vancouver Olympics last year, it’s been a whirlwind of activities on top of all the preparations for competitions. I felt I needed to take a breather.”
After winning gold in ladies’ singles in Vancouver with a record total of 228.56 points, Kim didn’t compete in any of the Grand Prix events organized by the International Skating Union (ISU) the following season. She only entered the world championships in April this year, and finished second behind Miki Ando of Japan.

Ambivalence.

Neither Kim Yu-na nor her fellow Olympic champion Evan Lysacek seem to be able to make up their minds about their futures in skating. This disappoints me more in the case of Kim because she was pretty much the only reason why I watched any of the Olympics two seasons ago. Whatever happened to the days when skaters hung ‘em up and hit the road with ice shows? We’ve come to learn that many star athletes often have deeply mixed feelings about the sports they are so good at. (Andre Agassi’s admission that he spent a good chunk of his life hating tennis comes to mind.) I think that Kim Yu-na still likes the competition and grand stage of figure skating but hates the grind required to stay there, so she literally can’t make up her mind whether or not to call it quits. And Yu-na knows that the source of her popularity and wealth depends a lot on her staying competitive. We’ll probably know for sure around this time next year. If Yu-na doesn’t skate in 2012-13, then we can be pretty certain she’s be done for good. For my own part, I’d like to see Yu-na go all in for at least one more season.

One Reply to “Kim Yuna will miss the 2011-12 Grand Prix”

Rosa says:

August 21, 2012 at 9:46 pm

Yes it disappoints me as well, Yuna was for me the only reason I watched any of the ice dancing with real interest, she even inspired me to go skating and take lesson’s.
Thanks for your article.

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