Kim Yu-na (left) and Katarina Witt
Olympic champion Kim Yu-na is to come up against German figure skating legend Katarina Witt, not on the ice but in the technical briefing of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Kim is the goodwill ambassador for Pyeongchang's campaign to host the games, and Witt heads the organizing committee for Munich's bid. Both figure skating stars will represent their own cities and make a presentation in front of IOC members.
Witt is one of the most decorated skaters in women's figure skating, having won two Olympic gold medals, in Sarajevo in 1984 and Calgary in 1988, and four world championships. Kim won the gold medal in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, and silver in the last two seasons of the world championships. She is deliberating whether to compete in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
The technical briefing will be Kim's first time in front of IOC members, as she had to pull out of the Sport Accord in London in April due to rescheduling of the 2011 World Championships after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The two stars are both enthusiastic about the briefings. "This competition is different from countless other competitions that I've experienced. There is just one winner, no silver, no bronze," Witt said. She has confidence in Munich's campaign, saying that Pyeongchang's previous two narrow defeats do not guarantee it a win at the third try.
Kim said, "It would be interesting for many to see two figure skaters representing their respective country in the competition to host the Olympics." Kim had a final rehearsal for the presentation with other presenters in the Mirabeau Hotel in Lausanne on Tuesday. Other presenters are Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-ho, the head of Pyeongchang's bid committee, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, 2004 Olympic champion in taekwondo and IOC member Moon Dae-sung, Korean Olympic Committee President Park Yong-sung, and Theresa Rah, a spokeswoman of the bid committee.
Link:http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/05/18/2011051801059.html
No comments:
Post a Comment