VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The normally unflappable Kim Yu-Na of South Korea burst into tears Thursday, after a flawless performance that won her the Olympic gold medal in women's figure skating. Ms. Kim, who scored a record 228.56 points for her two days of skating, said she didn't really know why emotion overcame her at the end of her free-skate program. But Ms. Kim, 19, also spoke of how hard it was to take in victory she's been training for, for years.
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"Actually, I still can't believe that I did what I wanted to do at the Olympics," Ms. Kim said in English, at a press conference after her victory. "I've been dreaming about this moment. I can't believe this is not a dream any more." Ms. Kim left no points behind on the ice, as she skated one perfect jump after another, including the triple flip, which had been a nemesis both to her and her coach, former Olympian Brian Orser.
A series of minute mistakes set her closest rivals even further behind her in the final tally than they were after Tuesday's short program. Japan's Mao Asada took the silver, with 205.5 points, after two slight slips.
Ms. Asada, 19, was visibly upset after her turn on the ice, telling reporters she was happy with her two triple axels – a difficult jump that only she performed in the competition – but not with the rest of her performance.
She said she got nervous during the second half of the program, after successfully completing the most difficult part of her skate. "I'm just full of regrets because of the errors that I made," she said. Ms. Asada appeared more composed at a subsequent press conference, saying she was very happy to win her medal, and proud to have landed three triple axels in the two days of Olympic competition.
Even Ms. Kim underestimated what she'd be capable of Thursday. She said after the performance that she was expecting a long-program score of 140 instead of the 150.06 she received. "It's almost as close as the men's score," she said. But Ms. Kim said she isn't planning to return long-term yet to the country where she's become an instant hero for winning its first medal in figure skating. Instead, she said she's going to continue training for the World Championships in Toronto, where she's practiced since 2006.
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“ I am Chinese. I am also very proud of her success. Kim Yu-na doesn't only belong to Korea, but to China and all of Asia. ”
—Richard Wong
Canada's Joannie Rochette, 24, who stole the hearts of the audience for continuing to skate after the recent death of her mother, won the bronze with 202.64 points. "My dream is she would always be by my side on a night like this," she said of her mother. "I feel proud and the result did not matter. I'm happy to be on the podium. It was a lifetime project for me and my mom and we achieved that," she said.
For the normally dominant Russians, these Games have brought a record drought. Russian figure skaters have won at least one gold medal at each of the Winter Games since 1964. In Vancouver, Russian athletes took silver in the men's singles event and bronze in ice dancing.
It was also the first time since 1964 that there was no American woman on the podium. Fourth-place American Mirai Nagasu, 16, said she's now got her eyes set on the next Olympics, when she'll have the maturity and experience that some of her older rivals skate with. "Hopefully by (the next Olympics) I'll have that," she said.
About her Olympic experience, she said "I guess it was as stressful as they say."
—Adam Thompson contributed to this article.
Write to Geoffrey A. Fowler at geoffrey.fowler@wsj.com and Phred Dvorak at phred.dvorak@wsj.com
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