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And now it's time for our daily coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, we have our
Lee Tae Ho with us for all the latest news and results.
Good afternoon, Tae Ho.
Good afternoon, Conn-young.
So Day 10 of the Sochi Winter Games has come and gone already. What are the results from
yesterday's competitions?
Well, first up is the Korean women's curling team.
Team Korea went up against the number 2-ranked team in the world, the ladies of Team Canada.
The round robin match resulted in yet another loss for the "idols on ice," with Team Korea
losing 4 to 9. The loss officially eliminated them from the
Olympics and they exit with a record of 3 wins and 6 losses.
Of course, the results are disappointing, but this is their first Olympics, which is
more meaningful than the results, right?
I would think so, because before the ladies took the ice at Sochi, curling was a relatively
unknown sport for many Koreans, but the women's team has been really popular -- it's consistently
been in headlines and making news. And though they are the team with the lowest
global rank at the Olympics, I'd say they did a very fine job.
And hopefully we will be able to see the sport take a giant leap forward in the next four
years leading up to the 2018 Winter Games, right here in Pyeongchang.
And the two-person bobsled event also came to a close yesterday?
That's right. Korea had two teams participating in the event,
with Team A, consisting of Won Yoon-jung and Seo Young-woo, placing 18th overall.
Team Russia scored another gold for the host nation, while the Swiss took home the silver
and the bronze went to the United States. This was the best finish by a Korean bobsled
team ever, and that is including the four-person event as well.
Well, congratulations to all of the Korean athletes who were in action yesterday on a
job well done. And now, as we creep ever closer to the start
of the women's figure skating competition, you have a breakdown of the two biggest stories
of the competition?
That's right. The heavy favorite for a repeat performance
at these Winter Olympics has long been Korea's figure skating queen Kim Yu-na, followed by
her longtime rival Mao Asada. But 15-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya of Russia
had a sensational Olympic debut in the figure skating team competition, and since then all
eyes have been on the rivalry that's been set up between Korea's figure skating queen
and Russia's sweetheart.
And it seems that the comparisons between the two athletes are endless.
That's right. Most comparisons between the two skaters have
centered on the topic of Kim's jumps versus Lipnitskaya's spins.
Yes, it certainly does seem that those are the two biggest strengths for each skater.
That's right. Now, let's take a look at a breakdown of Kim's
textbook jumps. There are four things to look for here.
First, the speed at which Kim goes into her jumps is amazing.
Most skaters slow down before they go into a jump, but Kim maintains her speed going
in, which is a big help for the next point -- the height of her jumps.
Now, all skaters get up into the air, but none like Kim, and certainly not Lipnitskaya,
who doesn't always get the height she needs when she jumps.
But Lipnitskaya's jumps seem so well executed and tight.
That's true, and the reason for that is the speed of the rotation, which is also something that is great about Kim's jumps as well.
And Kim's arm span of 68 centimeters, which is 5 centimeters longer than average for her
height, certainly helps as well, because she uses those long arms to literally wind up
and pull herself into the jump, for a tight, fast rotation.
They both maintain great form while in their jumps, which is another reason for their quick
rotations.
So, both skaters seem to have good rotation, but the difference so far is the speed into
the jump and the height of the jump, right?
That's right. And the last difference is the distance of
the jumps. Now, we just talked about the speed leading
into the jumps. Well, the speed going into a jump will also
determine the distance a skater travels while in the air -- and the greater the speed going
in, the farther you'll travel across the ice.
Alright. So Lipnitskaya is known for her beautiful spins and flexibility?
That's right. These are areas where I think she excels over
Kim, and for a reason. Kim sustained a back injury a while ago, and
since then she has stayed away from complex spins that require excessive back bending.
But that is something that Lipnitskaya can certainly do, and she does it with incredible
flexibility. And something else that is notable about Lipnitskaya's
technique is the speed at which she rotates during her spins.
She has perfect form going in and is able to center her spins right on the mark, both
of which give her speed and a graceful line.
Well, that was an excellent breakdown, and speaking of figure skating -- some watch for
the athletics, some for the excellent choreography, but some watch for -- the costumes, is that
right?
Yes, indeed, and we've already seen some great ones during these games.
But I think the top three standouts so far have definitely been:
Russia's ice dance pair, who skated to Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" and were in amazing Black Swan
costumes that matched perfectly with both the ballet and the choreography.
Another would be Yulia Lipnitskaya's red dress, which symbolized the red coat of the little
girl from the movie "Schindler's List," which she skated to in the figure skating team free
skate. And finally the Italian ice-dance pair who
seemed to be performing as Romeo and Juliet with their costumes.
So, we're seeing more costumes that make reference to culture and that are more theatrical, rather
than the typical nationalistic costumes incorporating the colors of the flag.
Very perceptive and correct indeed.
Well, we'll have to come back to you once the ladies' short program gets underway...
for an update to this list. Thank you again for the update, Tae Ho, and
we'll see you again tomorrow.
You're very welcome.