Yu-Na Kim

Korea’s Yu-Na Kim is the 2014 Olympic figure skating champion and the 2010 Olympic silver medalist in ladies singles at the Olympic Winter Games. She is the two-time World champion (2009, 2013), a World Junior champion (2006) and six-time national champion of Korea (2003-2006, 2013, 2014). Three times she has won the Grand Prix Final (2007, 2008, 2010), finishing second in 2009. Including her two World Championship titles in 2009 and 2013, Kim has won a total of six medals at World’s with two silver (2010, 2011) and two bronze medals (2007, 2008). Her first international competition was the 2002 the Slovenia Triglav Trophy, followed by the 2003 Croatia Golden Bear, with her senior international debut in 2006.

Kim has broken the world record 11 times, eight of which were her own marks. She is the first female figure skater to achieve a grand slam under the current ISU judging system. Throughout her entire career, Kim has never finished a competition lower than third place, making her one of the most consistent and greatest figure skaters of all-time.

Born in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, a satellite city 25 km south of Seoul, Kim started figure skating at the age of five showing great potential. By age 11, she was the youngest Korean skater to complete five triple jumps. By 2007, Kim had moved to Toronto, Canada to one of the finest figure skating clubs in the country.

One of the most highly recognized athletes and media figures in South Korea, “Queen Yu-Na”, as she is often referred to, is the first South Korean figure skater to win a medal at each of the major international skating events. Her international star rose following the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and she was included in Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” list and named The Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation. In 2010, the Korean-American Leadership Foundation awarded her a “Proud Korean Award” recognizing her contribution to improving Korea’s international status. The city of Los Angeles, USA also designated 7 August as “Yu-Na Kim Day”, granting her honourary citizenship. In 2010, she was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

With multi-million dollar sponsorship deals, Kim is the highest-paid figure skater of all-time and, in 2015, she donated $2.67 million USD to various charities. She has published two books, one of which is the “Seven-Minute Drama” in which she describes her figure skating experience as a seven-year-old.