The official Kim Yu-Na YouTube channel has been formally launched to the public yesterday (April 19). Featured on her channel are various Queen Yu-Na highlights from past competitions and other seasonal events. You can also watch some candid videos of her on the site as she prepares for her ice shows and ISU competitions.
The channel’s administrators also promises to supplement the site for more updated Kim Yu-Na videos as well as information regarding her competition schedules, events, plans, in the future.
Through the years, Korean sports have always been blessed with charismatic icons and winning stars. There’s Park Tae-Hwan, the 2008 Olympics gold medalist for swimming, Jang Mi-Ran, also an Olympic gold medalist for weightlifting, Park Ji-Sung, Manchester United’s midfielder and team captain of South Korea’s football national team, and last but definitely not the least, Korea’s most popular sport personality today, figure skater par excellence – Kim Yu-Na.
And there’s Son Yeon-Jae. Many of you might not recognize her name yet but she’s the newest kid on the block in Korean sports today that is being projected as the next biggest thing. Gifted with talent and beauty, 16 year old gymnast Son Yeon-Jae has been the poster child of South Korea’s rhythmic gymnastics junior team for a few years now. She first gained attention when she placed 5th in the 2007 Slovenia Junior Gymnastics World Cup beating many of her more experienced Eastern European counterparts. She also dominated her events (winning the rope, hoop, clubs, individual, and team contests) at the Korea Gymnastics Association’s national junior rhythmic gymnastics competition held in Gimpo, South Korea last year. Last month, in her first senior level competition, Yeon-Jae participated at the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup held in Kalamata, Greece. She earned a respectable 12th place finish in the all-round individual section tallying a final score of 98.45 points. She is expected to perform well this year at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in November.
In her recent interview, Yeon-Jae cites Kim Yu-Na as her idol and hopes to follow her footsteps winning prestigious events and competitions and giving Korean sports fame and recognition in the international arena. She is also eyeing a slot in the upcoming 2012 London Olympics where she hopes to win an Olympic gold and bring to Korea its first ever gold medal for individual rhythmic gymnastics.
