finesand, on 02 July 2012 - 09:34 AM, said:
Super quick translation -- unrevised, so pardon any typos & other grammatical errors -- I'm about to go to bed now lol
I skipped the last season. It's been 3 months since the last season ended. I was considering my future until last week. It was hard to find a new goal as a figure skater after Vancouver. Meanwhile people's affection and interest grew greater. They were psychological burden that I wanted to escape from. I had to train very hard to maintain competitive condition & I felt a great deal of pressure about competition result.
During my break, I trained in Taereung with the younger skaters. I tried to be helpful as a more experienced and older skater. I felt motivated by them. I kept thinking about my competitive / athlete life. I decided to lower my expecattions. I decided to have my own personal goals, nothing more.
I will start fresh, not as a Vancouver OGM, but as a figure skater representing Korea. I'll retire after Sochi & try to be an IOC athlete member rep.
Russian skaters are Kim Hae Jin and other younger skaters' rivals. I'm already a gold medalist, so I'm not putting paramount importance on result. The priority is earning spots for Sochi. I'll try to do well in international competitions and ready for the Worlds.
I'll compete from this season.
I have no plans for coaching situation yet, since I made up my mind last week. David Wilson will choreograph my programs.
It may take years to bring my condition back up to the Vancouver level. I took a break for one season, so my competitive sensibility / mindset aren't the same. I have to start working on them now. I have less than a year left. I'll train to regain my former condition.
Because training's so hard & I felt so pressured, life as an athlete was so tough for me. OTOH I felt a bit regretful. I felt like if I retire now because of pressure I may end up regretting it later.
In order to go to the Worlds, I must go to the Nats. I'll train around competition schedules. (From the aricle, it sounded like Yuna may have to go through Regionals, etc. to qualify for the Nats)
I didn't choose to go to Sochi just for the IOC member qualification. Of course, I must compete in Sochi in order to qualify, but as I said there was a bit of regret. I thought I may be able to compete calmly if I didn't set such high expectations.
My decision has nothing to do with Katarina Witt's legacy. She competed before I was even born. It is purely my own decision.
I cannot compete in Grand Prix b/c I skipped last season. Even if I could, I wouldn't b/c I'm not ready. Due to the ISU rule change, I must do some international competitions in order to qualify. Once I'm ready, I'll look for suitable international competitions.
I was in my absolute best condition in Vancouver. The score I set there is something I'll probably never be able to break. I've stopped thinking about scores a long time ago. I plan to focus on doing my best, rather than getting good result.
I was able to enjoy school life while skipping a season. I had a good time, though I had a dilemma about my future. Personally, they were precious moments to me.
I had lots of people who advised me. I lack experience and I'm too young to make big decisions. Though there were many pieces of advice, ultimately, it was I who made the decision.
Though I was gone for 1 season, fans waited over one year. Though I had many public appearances, fans wanted to see me skate more. I'm sorry I made my fans wait so long. Now that I'm back, I'll do my best to show them good performance.
Most people didn't know after I made my decision. Other skaters didn't know either.
(ATS states it'll honor Yuna's wishes and support her. She'll continue to train at Taereung)
In order to be good at competing, you have to train a lot. My primary focus is going to be training. Other things will be done w/ consultation with ATS. (ATS says they'll use their experience w/ Vancouver to figure out the optimal non-training events that Yuna should participate in)
I felt very sorry for many of the younger skaters because they were training so hard. I was motivated to see them train even harder than me at that age. For them, I'll go to the Worlds and earn more spots. I want to create memories w/ them (going to competitions).
It's going to be very difficult physically and mentally. My body is stiff from not competing. The ice show condition and competition condition are different. I experienced the difference in Moscow (Yuna's last worlds). It's been so long since I competed, so it'll be hard to get that competition mindset back.
It's been almost 2 years since my last competition. I'll do my best to regain my former form. I'll go to each competition to do my best and perform well so I don't have any regrets, rather than pressuring myself with getting good result. I'll work to show new programs and characters. I'd love it if people can cheer for me, root for me. I'm sorry everyone had to wait so long.
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