Winter Olympics 2010: Kim Yu-na sets out to prove she is queen of the ice in Vancouver

By Simon Hart in Vancouver Published: 8:25PM GMT twenty-two February 2010

Sensation; Being mobbed is only piece of hold up for the South Korean teenage skating prodigy Kim Yu-na Photo: AP

Such is the hold up of an Olympic superstar-in-waiting. No consternation the nineteen year-old chose to check her attainment at the Games until as late as probable prior to streamer true to a private, heavily rhythmical hotel, afar from meddling eyes in the athletes" village.

Being mobbed wherever she goes is only piece of the domain for the teenage figure skating sensation, who is well known as "Queen Yu-na" by her adoring fans in her local South Korea.

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"Now she needs bodyguards, and it"s unequivocally incredible," pronounced Orser. "They"ve embraced her and they love her and she"s really friendly about it. It"s fun, and I get to go along for the ride."

That float will take Kim to Vancouver"s Pacific Coliseum in the early hours of Wednesday for the majority energetically expected Olympic skating foe given the "Beauty and the Beast" strife in between Americans Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding in Lillehammer in 1994.

It starts with the short programme in that Kim, skating 26th out of 30, will perform her "James Bond" slight that ends with her hands clasped together in the figure of a pistol.

Nobody is awaiting her to misfire.

Well, roughly nobody. The last time Canada hosted the Olympics, in Calgary in 1988, Orser was himself an strenuous gold-medal favourite, carrying not lost a foe in dual years, but he was narrowly knocked about by American Brian Boitano in the supposed "Battle of the Brians". Orser knows all about the risk of complacency.

"My recommendation to her entrance here was that we are not seeking at medals or the colour of the medals," he said. "Your hold up is not hinging on winning a medal. You need to welcome the Olympics, all of the Olympics."

But Orser, who has coached Kim in Toronto given she was 15, additionally believes that if Kim skates to her capability, afterwards she will be "unstoppable". Her performances over the past dual years bear him out, with only one better given finishing third at the 2008 World Championships.

She won the 2009 universe pretension in Los Angeles with a universe jot down measure of 76.12pts for her short programme and a universe jot down altogether sum of 207.71, apropos the initial skater to pass 200 points underneath the International Skating Union judging system.

This season, at the Trophe Eric Bompard in Paris, she combined a free movement universe jot down of 133.95pts and increasing her altogether universe symbol to 210.03.

What sets her detached is that she appears to be the finish skater, mixing dexterity and indulgence with athleticism and technical precision. She opens her short programme with a fiendishly formidable three times Lutz-triple toe-loop combination.

The one thing she does not have in her arms depot is the 3-revolution three times axel, that adds a covering of amour to the foe identical to the athleticism/artistry discuss that accompanied Evan Lysacek"s feat over Yevgeny Plushenko last week.

Kim"s element rival, Japan"s Mao Asada, does have the three times axel and has reliable that she intends to have use of the arms once in her short programme and twice in the free in an try to opposite Kim"s inventive prowess.

After a bad grand prix season, in that she did not even have the final, Asada, the 2008 universe champion, seems to have returned to form, winning her fourth Japanese pretension and afterwards receiving the Four Continents climax last month. Kim chose not to compete.

Another Japanese skater, 2007 universe hold up Miki Ando, could additionally poise a threat, whilst the main non-Asian challenger is Canada"s Joannie Rochette, the universe china medallist.

To supplement to the melodrama, Rochette woke up to the headlines on Sunday that her 55-year-old mother, Therese, had died of a heart conflict after nearing in Vancouver from the family home in Montreal.

The Canadian universe china medallist pronounced she programmed to lift on and appeared at her allotted precision event inside of hours of her bereavement.

Whatever unfolds on the ice this week, fans will need handkerchiefs at the ready. And if Kim gives South Korea the initial ever figure skating bullion medal, afterwards an complete nation will yowl with joy.