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IOC deletes the comment Kim Yuna says she never made

March 10, 2014

 

Figure skater Kim Yu-na speaks during an awards ceremony for the Sochi Olympic medalists at the Taeneung National Training Center in Seoul on March 3. (Yonhap)

Figure skater Kim Yu-na speaks during an awards ceremony for the Sochi Olympic medalists at the Taeneung National Training Center in Seoul on March 3. (Yonhap)

By Jung Min-ho

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) falsely quoted Korean figure-skating star Kim Yu-na in a news story published on its website following the controversial women’s final, where Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova edged Kim for the gold.

In the article, Kim, 25, is described as calling Sotnikova the best skater of the competition. Kim’s representatives, however, say that the Vancouver gold medalist never made such a comment.

In Sochi, Kim failed in her bid to become only the third woman to repeat as Olympic champion, finishing second with 219.11 points after the free skate, 5.48 points behind Sotnikova, who became her country’s first female champion ever.

However, retired athletes and experts questioned the fairness of the judging, arguing that Sotnikova’s points were dramatically inflated.

The article on the IOC website, which was later re-edited, is titled ”Youth Olympic Games inspire Sochi successes’’ and quoted Kim as saying, ”She (Sotnikova)’s a highly technical skater and was very difficult to beat tonight. I saw her in Innsbruck as part of my role as Games ambassador. … We both battled for gold tonight, but she managed to come out on top. … She put on a great show.”

All That Sports, Kim’s agency, said the quotes were fake.

“Kim didn’t say that to any media company that interviewed her in Sochi,’’ said a company representative.

“We requested the IOC to correct it.’’

The IOC took down that part of the article on Sunday without any reference to an update. The Korea Times contacted the IOC regarding the issue, but didn’t receive a response by press time.

Kim had put up a historic performance at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, where she crushed the competition with a world-record of 228.56 points, edging silver-medalist Asada Mao of Japan by a staggering margin of 23 points-plus.

Earlier this month, Kim, who retired after the Sochi Games, told her fans that she was “dumbfounded” by the judging but didn’t complain because she was glad that it was all finally over.

Kim, one of the world’s greatest figure skater of all time, will officially retire at her farewell ice show, which will be held in Seoul from May 4-6.

Her agency said the show will be her opportunity to show her appreciation for her fans’ support.

“I’d like to come up with a new gala program, since this will be my retirement event,” Kim said. “I’d like to return at least some of the love I’ve received over the years.”

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