South Korea's Kim has big lead after short program
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Like a true Bond Girl, Kim Yu-na knocked off her rivals.
Nobody did it better.
The biggest favorite to win the Olympic title since Katarina Witt in 1988, Kim was cool under pressure with a playfully sexy and sophisticated number that left fans and the judges swooning last night. Her score of 78.5 points not only shattered her own record, it put her almost five points ahead of longtime rival - and chief threat - Mao Asada.
With two triple Axels planned, Asada can make up the difference in Thursday night's free skate. But it sets up the best showdown in figure skating since the Battle of Brians - so appropriate considering that Brian Orser is Kim's coach.
Canada's Joannie Rochette, skating just two days after the sudden death of her mother, gave the most moving performance of the entire night. Fighting tears as she took her starting pose, Rochette composed herself and let her training mask her grief.
When her music ended, Rochette gave a sharp exhale and doubled over, no longer able to hold back the tears. She tried to smile as she waved at the standing crowd, but couldn't stop the tears, and buried her head in longtime coach Manon Perron's shoulder when she left the ice.
She cried through her marks and was later helped backstage by two Skate Canada officials.
Miki Ando, the 2007 world champion, is fourth, followed by the two young Americans, Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu. Georgia's Elene Vanishvili, who is coached by Robin Wagner, was ninth.
Nagasu fared far better than she expected after getting a bloody nose midway through her program.
"Halfway through the program, I felt it running down my nose and just said, 'Don't stop, keep going,' " Nagasu said. "I skated the best I can."
So did Kim.
She arrived in Vancouver carrying the greatest expectations of any single athlete. The reigning world champion is a rock star in her native South Korea, dubbed "Queen Yu-na" and so wildly popular that she can't leave her parents' house without bodyguards.
Though South Korea has piled up plenty of medals - 10 as of last night - the country has yet to win anything in any winter sport besides speedskating and short track.
