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Talk about a home field advantage... as the 'Figure Queen' Kim Yu-na was given a free
skating score... that shocked the entire nation. Going very last in a group of 24 skaters...
it was going to be a close race to the finish. Despite a near flawless performance on the
free skating program... the 2010 Vancouver gold medalist is given a 144-point-19... for
a total of 219-point-11... and wins the silver. And despite a noticeable mistake on one of
her landing... Russia's Adelina Sotnikova scores a 149-point-95 in the
free skating program... as she claims the gold medal... after scoring a total of 224-point-59.
Italy's Carolina Kostner would finish 3rd in the event... after scoring a 142-point-61
in the free skating program... as many fans are questioning the scoring made the judges
in this event.
And with that moving over to the currrent medal count after 13 days of competition in
Sochi... And taking a look here... Norway in contract
with a total of 10 gold medals so far... with the US moving up to 2nd with 8 gold...
followed by Germany with 8 gold medals... but just 16 overall medals.
Russia with 7 now... and Canada in 5th with 7 gold, as well.
Meanwhile, with Kim Yu-na's silver medal... Korea now sits at 15th... with 2 gold, 2 silver
and 1 bronze medal.
As we edge closer to the climax of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the spotlight gradually
shifts to the next host city -- the Korean resort town of Pyeongchang.
To hear what Pyeongchang has learnt from Sochi -- and what to expect during the closing ceremony,
Arirang News' Song Ji-sun sat down with the head of Pyeongchang's Organizing Committee.
For the over 2-hundred personnel dispatched to Sochi from Pyeongchang nothing is too big
or too small to go unchecked or unobserved. The pressure is on, as in less than four years
time, the eyes of the world will be focused on whether Pyeongchang is ready to take up
the mantle as an Olympic host city. As the next in line, how would the chief organizer
of PyeongChang 2018 rate the way the Sochi Games have been run?
"Overall, we believe it was a successful Olympic Games. Sochi 2014 had all the big venues in
one place at the Olympic Park. The weather and the volunteers were also very pleasant.
Pyeongchang is more compact due to the fact that all our clusters are within 30 minutes
of each other, but
after studying the way it is organized here, we want to reinforce the efficiency of our
venues."
With the curtain drawing down on Sochi, the world will watch as the Olympic flag is passed
to the Korean delegation during Sunday's closing ceremony.
The ceremony is expected to culminate with a grand performance of Korean dance and various
mixes of Korea's traditional song, Arirang.
"Korea is relatively less well-known than many other countries around the world. So
we want to incorporate that mysterious, oriental side when introducing Pyeongchang. And as
PyeongChang 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988 -- we
want to portray Korea
- now a developed country, from a country that was catching up with others three decades
ago."
Kim adds it is crucially important Korea does more than just host the Games.
He says the nation's athletes need to win medals.
"Aside from everything else, what really counts is how well the host country's athletes do.
Russia has succeeded in that up until now, and I want to stress that Korea must work
together to boost our chances. I've seen the potential we have, not just in skating but
in winter sliding events and
freestyle skiing. I'm sure Korean athletes can make Pyeongchang their stage in four years
time."
Song Ji-sun, Arirang News, Sochi.