BEIJING, A strange bit of controversy from the previous Winter Games well behind her, South Korean speed skater Kim Bo-reum believes she couldn’t be in a better place, mentally and physically, going into Beijing 2022.
Not having to compete in the spotlight of an eager home audience, as she did at PyeongChang 2018, also helps.
“Preparing for PyeongChang, I did feel a ton of pressure. I felt like I had to skate well for the country,” Kim said Saturday after a training session at the National Speed Skating Oval in the Chinese capital. “Now, I am much more relaxed.”
The color of her hair perhaps reflects her mood. For PyeongChang, Kim had dyed her hair bright yellow. She stood out for her hair as much as for her on-ice feats. But she is sporting her natural color of black this time.
“I am actually a quiet person,” Kim said sheepishly, trying to dispute the notion that she is an outgoing type or at least looked the part once. “I am just being myself.”
Kim found herself at the center of a bizarre story surrounding the women’s speed skating team in February 2018. In a women’s team pursuit race, Kim had left her senior teammate, Noh Seon-yeong, well behind the pack as she crossed the finish line. Teams are timed when the last skater crosses the line in the team pursuit, and skaters generally stay tightly bunched as a unit.
Kim’s action led to charges that she had deliberately embarrassed Noh out of spite and caused an uproar among the public. Kim gave a tearful press conference to apologize and then, in a display of impressive mental fortitude, won silver medal in the women’s mass start.
Following the Olympics, the sports ministry opened an investigation into bullying charges against Kim, who was cleared in May 2018. It took a little more time for Kim to get herself together mentally, and she is now back trying to win another Olympic medal.
She ranked eighth overall in the mass start during the most recent International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup season.
“Before PyeongChang, my mindset wasn’t, ‘I have to win gold.’ It was more of, ‘I’ve worked hard for this moment and let’s just go skate,'” Kim said. “That hasn’t changed for me. I want to leave here without any regrets.”
Kim fell during her training on Saturday and appeared to be shaken up. She massaged her right shoulder a few times but reported no injury afterward. She said she needed to check her skate blade after it crashed into the padding.
“I hardly ever fall during practice. It happens maybe once a year,” said Kim, who said she lost her balance momentarily. “But it could have been a lot worse.”
Before the unexpected fall, though, Kim said she was feeling great on the ice.
“I felt a bit lethargic during my first run here (Friday), but I felt a lot better today,” she said. “My competition is toward the end of the Olympics (on Feb. 19). I have plenty of time to get ready.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency