Early career In 2002, Kim competed internationally for the first time at the
Triglav Trophy in Slovenia, where she completed five triple jumps and won the gold medal in the novice competition, the first international victory for a Korean woman. A year later, at age 12, she won the senior title at the
South Korean Championships, becoming the youngest skater ever to do so, a record not broken until 2016 by 11-year-old
You Young. She also placed first at the
2003 Golden Bear of Zagreb, a novice competition. Kim won three consecutive South Korean championships between 2003 and 2006.
Junior career 2004–05 season: Junior debut In the 2004–05 season, Kim competed as a junior during the
ISU Junior Grand Prix. She won a gold medal at the
2004 JGP Hungary, her first international competition, and became the first Korean skater to win a Junior Grand Prix event. She placed first in both competition segments, the
short program and the
free skating program, scoring a combined total of 148.55 points. At her second competition, the
2004 JGP China, Kim was in fourth place after making four errors in her short program, but rebounded in the free skate to take second place overall with 131.22 points. She qualified for the
2004–05 Junior Grand Prix Final, where she won the silver medal with an overall score of 137.75 points. It was the first time that a Korean skater had won a medal at the event. At the
2005 South Korean Championships, she won her third consecutive gold medal. In her free skate, she successfully executed a combination of two triple jumps for the first time but fell on her triple
Lutz. She was ineligible to compete at the
World Championships, because she did not meet the required age minimum of 15 years old. She won the silver medal at the
2005 World Junior Championships with 158.93 points overall. Coming from behind after the short program, where she had finished in sixth place, she scored 110.26 points in her free skate, with her "secret weapon" She was not old enough to compete at the
2006 Olympics; instead, she participated in the
Olympic torch relay and the
2005–06 Junior Grand Prix, winning both of her competitions in Slovakia and Bulgaria. At the
2005 JGP Slovakia, she finished in first place with 168.83 points overall. She was Orser's first real student. Kim made her senior international debut and Orser made his coaching debut at the
2006 Skate Canada International, where she became the first Korean skater to place at a senior Grand Prix event by winning a bronze medal, placing first in the short program and fourth in the free skate, with a total overall score of 168.48 points. At the
2006 Trophée Éric Bompard, Kim became the first Korean skater to win a senior Grand Prix competition, placing first in both the short program and free skate, with a total of 184.54 points, her personal best up to that point. She became the first Korean skater to both medal at and win a Grand Prix Final. She placed third in the short program and first in the free skate, earning a total of 184.20 points and defeating silver medalist Mao Asada. After the short program, Kim admitted that she was worried about her performance due to some back pain, but that she was satisfied with her results. After the free skate, she told reporters that she was surprised by the outcome and was pleased to compete with the Japanese skaters present, calling them "strong competitors". Kim was scheduled to compete at the
2007 Asian Winter Games, but had to withdraw. Despite being on pain killers for chronic back pain and with little treatment, she won the short program with 71.95 points, setting the highest short program score ever under the
ISU Judging System. Rosaleen Kaye of
Golden Skate stated that Kim performed her short program "with an intensity and maturity far above her years". She said, after winning the gold medal at the
2009 World Championships, that even though she did her personal best in the short program in 2007, she did not do as well in the free skate. In the short program, she landed a triple Lutz, a double Axel, and successfully performed three spins, but a failed triple flip-single toe loop combination caused her to finish the segment in third place.
Golden Skate reported that her disappointment was clear as she entered the
kiss-and-cry and that she later admitted that she was nervous after popping her jump. In the free skate, Kim landed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, triple Lutz-double toe loop combination, and a double Axel-triple toe loop combination. She scored 122.36 points and was the only skater in the competition who received no deductions for the free skate. Kim later admitted that she was not satisfied with her free skate and vowed to work on it before her next competition. reporter Anna Kondkova called it "a nearly flawless performance".|alt=Refer to captionKim qualified for the
2007–08 Grand Prix Final in
Turin, Italy; she and Mao Asada had both earned the maximum 30 points to advance. She won the short program with 64.62 points, a season's best score. Skating last, she "performed nearly perfect, except the failure of her starting jump". Kim was not required to compete in the
2008 South Korean Championships, because she had already qualified for the
World Championships and the
Four Continents Championships, although a hip injury and chronic hip pain prevented her from competing at Four Continents. Even though she had to take pain killers, Kim competed at the World Championships in
Gothenburg, Sweden. She was placed fifth in the short program with 59.85 points, but rebounded in the free skate to win the program with 123.38. Despite seriously considering dropping out of the competition several times, she scored 183.23 points overall, and won her second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships. In her free skate, she landed several combination jumps; her only error was during her second Lutz jump. She later told reporters that she planned on taking the next two months to rest and take care of her injury, and then return to training in Canada. It was the first time a Korean skater had repeated as a medalist at the World Championships. The week before competing at Skate America, Kim was accepted into
Korea University. despite trouble with her double Axel. Rutherford reported that Kim "sparkled" According to
The Korea Times, Kim "pulled off a series of near-perfect jumps and an eloquent spiral sequence". Kim made errors in her short program; she two-footed and under-rotated her triple Lutz, which was downgraded to a double jump. In Kim's free skate, she demonstrated an "iron will" and successfully executed five clean triple jumps, including her trademark triple flip-triple toe loop. She stepped out of her first triple Lutz, which she did not think affected her score, so she added a double toe jump to the end of her second triple Lutz. Kim placed first in the short program with 65.94 points, well below her personal best, and second in the free skate where she earned 120.41 points. After placing first place at the finals the previous two seasons, she won the silver medal with a total score of 186.35 points. She landed a "beautiful" Asada finished a "shocking" Kang Seung-woo from
The Korea Times stated that Kim's success "brightened prospects for a first figure skating medal for the Far East nation in the Winter Games". Orser, who later said that Kim was well-trained, stated about Kim's short program, "I think this was one of those moments people will always remember, especially those judges". Juliet Macur of
The New York Times stated about Kim's free skate, "For the second night in a row, Kim performed yet another elegant, effortless routine that enthralled the crowd and the judges". She chose to replace her triple loop with an Ina Bauer going into a double Axel because although triple loops were worth more points, errors that resulted in a loss of points were more common. The addition of the Ina Bauer also increased her component scores. Kang Seung-woo of
The Korea Times stated, "She performed a remarkably charismatic dance, demonstrating flexibility and powerful energy before an awestruck crowd". At the Trophée Éric Bompard, she placed first in the short program with a score of 76.08 points. After her performance, she pumped her fists and waved to the audience. At the 2009 Skate America, Kim placed first again after the short program with a score of 76.28, ahead of her closest competitor
Rachael Flatt from the United States. Kim later said that every competition was important to her and she considered them practice for the Olympics. After her short program, Kim told reporters that she was not sure about using music from the Bond films, but eventually came around to the idea because she liked the choreography created by Wilson and felt that it was a good choice for an Olympic year. Orser told reporters that even with Kim's multiple wins, he was "taking nothing for granted". The South Korean newspaper
The Chosun Ilbo called Kim "the clear favorite for the gold" in Vancouver and "in a league of her own". She placed second in the short program with 65.64 points. The next day, she won the free skate with 123.22 points. As a result, Kim won every competition she had entered in 2009 and her third Grand Prix Final title with a total of 188.86 points. In mid-December, she was chosen to carry the
Olympic torch for the second time, running about 300 meters in downtown
Hamilton, an hour's drive from where she trained in Toronto. In March 2010, Kim competed at the
2010 World Championships in
Turin, Italy. Kim said she had struggled with finding the motivation to compete at the World Championships after winning the gold medal at the Olympics. Kim placed seventh in the short program with 60.30 points, the third-worst lowest score of her career and the first time she did not place into the top five. She rebounded in the free skate to win the program with 130.49 points, and won the silver medal with a total of 190.79 points. Kim later admitted that Worlds were mentally difficult for her and that she had seriously considered pulling out of the competition.
2010 Winter Olympics: Gold medal In February 2010, Kim competed in the women's event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, held in
Vancouver, Canada. She entered the Games as a strong favourite to win the gold.
The New York Times reported on the great amount of pressure Kim felt going into the Olympics, but told the newspaper that she was "prepared for anything". a triple flip, and a double Axel. Kim scored 78.50 points. Kim accomplished her best score in the short program, breaking her own world record by over two points. She later told reporters that she felt no pressure going into the free skate. Overall, Kim totaled 228.56 points, breaking her own personal best and previous world record. She defeated silver medalist
Mao Asada by 23.06 points, the greatest margin recorded in women's singles at the Olympics or World Championships since the introduction of the ISU Judging System.
Dorothy Hamill, the
1976 Olympic champion, said that Kim had "jaw-dropping magnificence", adding "The height of her jumps, the power, and the fluid beauty of her skating are like magic".
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who met with and congratulated
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan the following day, also praised Kim's performance, calling it "extraordinary". In South Korea, the stock market halted all business during Kim's performances. She and Orser flew immediately to Seoul after the Olympics to meet with South Korean president
Lee Myung-bak at his
official residence. According to the Associated Press, it was "a move that has taken many by surprise—Orser included" Orser stated that his firing was "out of the blue". David Wilson called the split "like a nightmare". At first, Kim continued to train in Toronto without a coach and no plans to hire one. In October, after her camp asked Wilson to coach her, an offer he refused, she hired
Peter Oppegard and continued to work with Wilson as her choreographer. Kim was assigned to the
2010 Cup of China and to the
2010 Cup of Russia for the
2010–11 ISU Grand Prix season. However, she chose not to compete in the Grand Prix series to focus on the
2011 World Championships in
Moscow, her only competition of the season and her first competition in over a year. American coach
Frank Carroll, while recognizing the difficulty of competing after such a long period, stated that she had "the guts and the strength of character to do it". Kim also chose not to compete at the
2011 Four Continents Championships, because the previous Olympics had sapped her energy. Kim came in second in the free skate with 128.59 points and won the silver medal, with a total score of 194.50 points. Kim said she might miss the next Grand Prix series due to her work promoting
South Korea's successful bid for the
2018 Winter Olympics. On October 18, 2011, she officially announced she would be sitting out the entire
2011–12 season, the first time in her junior and senior careers. She later said that she took the break due to the high expectations and pressure she felt going into the Vancouver Olympics. She later told Nancy Armour of the Associated Press that she was "determined not to be suffocated by the pressure again". Despite her past successes, however, Kim was not invited to skate in the
2012–13 Grand Prix circuit, so she chose to compete in minor events to score enough technical points to qualify for the
2013 World Championships. |alt=Refer to caption Kim left Oppegard and began training with her childhood coaches Shin Hea-sook and Ryu Jong-hyun. Her coaches reported that Kim's technique was no problem, even after her long break, but that they were working on her stamina in training. Shin was in charge of Kim's overall training and Ryu was in charge of her fitness training and conditioning. Kim chose music from the 1963 film
Kiss of the Vampire for her short program and selections from the musical
Les Misérables for her free skate. She used movie and musical soundtracks because she wanted to use something new. Kim's first competition of the season was the
2012 NRW Trophy in
Dortmund, Germany. Moon reported that Kim began her free skate "with indelible poise and sublime grace... launching herself fearlessly into jumps and landing with implausible softness". Kim also told reporters that she was enjoying her reunion with Shin and Ryu, and that she had missed training at home in Korea. She skated a clean short program, placing first with a score of 64.97. She also won the free skate with a score of 145.80 points and 210.77 points overall. She won her fifth national title and qualified to compete in the World Championships. Koh Dong-wook of
Yonhap News Agency, who called Kim's free skate a "flawless performance",'' at the
2013 World Championships|alt=Refer to caption At the 2013 World Championships and looking to win her second World title, Kim placed first in the short program with a score of 69.97 points. She completed a triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination jump, a triple flip, which was downgraded due to her take-off on the wrong edge of her skate, and a double Axel. because skating later on made her more nervous. Kim also won the free skate after executing a clean program that earned her 148.34 points. With 218.31 points overall, Kim claimed her second world title, surpassing the rest of the competitors by 20.43 points, the largest difference between gold and silver in the nine years the ISU Judging System had been used in the World Championships. Kim competed in the
2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb, her first competition in nine months. She placed first in the short program with a score of 73.37 points and won the free skate with 131.12 points. Yoo Jee-ho of Yonhap News Agency stated that Kim's choice of music for her short program, "
Send in the Clowns", was a departure from her recent choices, which tended to be set to "more powerful tunes" and could have fallen flat in its choreography, but that Kim made up for it with "a series of exquisite steps and spins". '' at the
2014 Sochi Olympics In February 2014, Kim competed at the
2014 Winter Olympic Games, seeking to become the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals since
Katarina Witt and with the intention of retiring from competitive skating afterwards. She narrowly came in first place after the short program with 74.92 points. Kim skated earlier than the other favorite competitors, due to her lower international standing, although she later said that it lessened her pressure. As anticipated, Kim announced that the 2014 Olympics would mark the end of her competitive skating career and that she would not compete at the
2014 World Championships. During an interview in 2016, David Wilson expressed his "great disappointment" about her retirement.
Coaches •
Shin Hea-sook (
2012–
2014) • Ryu Jong-hyun (
2012–
2014) •
Peter Oppegard (
2010–11) •
Brian Orser (2006–
2010) •
Kim Se-yol •
Chi Hyun-jung • Ryu Jong-hyun (2000–2002) •
Shin Hea-sook (1997–2000) ==Professional skating career==