I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned how much I love the Olympics. My favorite sport for the Winter Olympics is, without a doubt, Women’s Figure Skating. There’s something about elegance meeting athleticism that really inspires me. Back in the Kristi Yamaguchi days, I would imagine myself as a beautiful figure skater . . . “Imagine” being the operative word here, folks.
I was especially invested in this year’s Women’s Figure Skating because of Kim Yuna and Mao Asada. I remember watching them when they were just starting out, reading articles of their rivalry and how each girl was motivated by the other (by the competition) to get better. In a rather unpatriotic move, I wanted so much for either Kim or Asada to win the 2010 gold. Although I adore Mirai Nagasu, I hoped that Kim and Asada’s years of hard work and determination would pay off with a nice shiny medal.
You can imagine my joy with the result of Women’s Figure Skating, where Yuna and Asada respectively placed gold and silver. Well, I would have loved it more if Nagasu won Bronze, but hey, we can’t have it all! Kim excelled in both her programs to win the gold medal, along with the respect of so many people. My worry that all the pressure on her slight, but strong shoulders would be too much for her was all for naught. Even though Asada expressed regret at the free skate program, I’m also proud of her all the same.
I can’t end this post without giving a special shout out to Nagasu who had a great showing at her first Olympics. She was 6th going into the Free Skate and after a beautiful program, she bested Miki Ando and Rachael Flatt to finish 4th. She captured the attention of the global community as a hopeful medalist for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
I think it’s appropriate for me to wrap this up with a quote from one of my friends who surprisingly enjoyed Women’s Figure Skating. “What’s with these Asian girls who dominate in figure skating?”
(Image Credit: NBC Olympics)
