Ice queen Kim Yu Na (김연아) has Olympic gold in her eyes

Ice queen Kim has Olympic gold in her eyes

South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-na Kim knows she is within touching distance of Olympic gold, according to AFP. Ever since watching Tara Lipinsky become the youngest individual gold medalist in Winter Games history aged 15 at the 1998 Nagano Games, the girl from Gyeonggi Province has been dreaming of being on top of the podium, the report said. It said Kim missed her chance to compete at the 2006 Turin Olympics. After Lipinsky, the International Skating Union (ISU) devised an age limit and Kim, the 2006 world junior champion, missed the deadline by two months. She has her chance now and is determined not to let it slip. "I've been watching the Olympics since 1998 and dreaming of being there," AFP quoted the 19-year-old as saying. "For Turin I just missed going because my birthday wasn't enough. Now finally I can go to the Olympics and fulfill my dream of performing there." The news agency said the road has been a long one for Kim, the first Korean to medal at an ISU Championship when she took silver at the 2005 world junior championships and bronze at the 2007 world championships. But she believes her move to Canada in 2006 has done a lot to improve her confidence. She is now being coached by Canada's 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medalist Brian Orser in Toronto, according to the report. "This is the Olympic season. I'm a little bit nervous but I feel confident after last season, added Kim, who heads to Skate America next month, as she fine-tunes her performance for the Olympics next February. /Korea Herald Oct 28, 2009