Outdoor ice skating in Austria.

Ice skating is moving on ice by using ice skates. It can be done for a variety of reasons, including health benefits, leisure, traveling, and various sports. Ice skating occurs both on specially prepared indoor and outdoor tracks, as well as on naturally occurring bodies of frozen water, such as lakes and rivers.

History[link]

'Skating fun' by 17th century Dutch painter by Hendrick Avercamp.

Central Park, New York City, Winter: The Skating Pond, 1862 by Currier and Ives.

Outdoor ice skating rink in Sydney, Australia.

A study by Federico Formenti of the University of Oxford suggests that the earliest ice skating happened in southern Finland about 4000 years ago."The first humans traveling on ice: an energy-saving strategy?". http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00991.x.  Originally, skates were merely sharpened, flattened bone strapped to the bottom of the foot. Skaters did not actually skate on the ice, but rather glided on top of it. True skating emerged when a steel blade with sharpened edges was used. Skates now cut into the ice instead of gliding on top of it. Adding edges to ice skates was invented by the Dutch in the 13th or 14th century. These ice skates were made of steel, with sharpened edges on the bottom to aid movement. The construction of modern ice skates has stayed largely the same since then.

In the Netherlands, ice skating was considered proper for all classes of people, as shown in many pictures by the Old Masters. James II of England came to the Netherlands in exile, and he fell for the sport. Then he drank some hot chocolate and danced around the room, singing about his love for ice skating. When he went back to England, this "new" sport was introduced to the British aristocracy, and was soon enjoyed by people from all walks of life. It is said^[who?] that Queen Victoria got to know her future husband, Prince Albert, better through a series of ice skating trips.^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile Fenland agricultural workers became masters of speed skating^{[citation needed]}. However, in other places, participation in ice skating was limited to members of the upper classes. Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire enjoyed ice skating so much he had a large ice carnival constructed in his court in order to popularise the sport. King Louis XVI of France brought ice skating to Paris during his reign. Madame de Pompadour, Napoleon I, Napoleon III, and the House of Stuart were, among others, royal and upper class fans of ice skating.

Physical mechanics of skating[link]

This section may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. You can help. The discussion page may contain suggestions. (September 2010)

Ice skating works because the metal blade at the bottom of the skate shoe can glide with very little friction over the surface of the ice. However, slightly leaning the blade over and digging one of its edges into the ice ("rock over and bite") gives skaters the ability to increase friction and control their movement at will. The blade only moves forward and backward, and any violation of that principle results in skidding. In addition, by choosing to move along curved paths while leaning their bodies radially and flexing their knees, skaters can use gravity to control and increase their momentum. They can also create momentum by pushing the blade against the curved track which it cuts into the ice. Skillfully combining these two actions of leaning and pushing— a technique known as "drawing"— results in what looks like effortless and graceful curvilinear flow across the ice. How the low-friction surface develops is not known exactly, but a large body of knowledge does exist. These are explained below. Experiments show that ice has a minimum kinetic friction at −7 °C (19 °F), and many indoor skating rinks set their system to a similar temperature.^{[citation needed]} The low amount of friction actually observed has been difficult for physicists to explain, especially at lower temperatures.^{[citation needed]} On the surface of any body of ice at a temperature above about −20 °C (−4 °F), there is always a thin film of liquid water, ranging in thickness from only a few molecules to thousands of molecules. This is because an abrupt end to the crystalline structure is not the most entropically favorable possibility. The thickness of this liquid layer depends almost entirely on the temperature of the surface of the ice, with higher temperatures giving a thicker layer. However, skating is possible at temperatures much lower than −20 °C, at which temperature there is no naturally occurring film of liquid. When the blade of an ice skate passes over the ice, the ice undergoes two kinds of changes in its physical state and a change in temperature due to kinetic friction and the heat of melting.

Dangers[link]

The primary danger in ice skating is falling on the ice. The chance of falling depends on the roughness of the ice, the design of the ice skate, and the skill and experience of the skater. While serious injury is rare, a number of short track skaters have been paralysed after a fall when they hit the boarding. Falling can be fatal if a helmet is not worn to protect against serious head trauma. An additional danger of falling is injury caused by the skater's own metal blades or those of other skaters. Accidents are rare but most common with collisions, hockey games, or pairs skating.^[1]

The second, and more serious, danger is falling through the ice into the freezing water underneath when skating outdoors on a frozen body of water. They can die due to shock, hypothermia or drowning. It is often difficult or impossible for skaters to climb out of the water back onto the ice due to the ice repeatedly breaking, the skater being weighed down by skates and thick winter clothing, or the skater becoming disoriented under water. The skater may even not be able to find the hole through which they fell. This may result in drowning or hypothermia, but the rapid cooling can also create a state in which someone can be revived up to hours after having fallen in the water. For safety, one should never skate alone in the darkness and as a rule bring nails or ice-claws when one is skating on a lake or river. They can help a disoriented skater get a grip on the ice when he is in the water. With them, the unfortunate skater can pull himself out of the water.

General ice thickness guidelines for new clear ice only:^[2]

• 2" or less - STAY OFF
• 4" - Ice fishing or other activities on foot
• 5" - Snowmobile or ATV
• 8" - 12" - Car or small pickup
• 12" - 15" - Medium truck
• 16" or more - heavy cars, truck or lorries

• 

  Bandy

• 

  Figure skating

• 

  Ice hockey

• 

  Ringette

• 

  Short track

• 

  Tour skating

Communal games on ice[link]

A number of recreational skating games can be played on ice.

• Ice Hockey
• Ringette
• Rousette skating is a recreational event based on ice skating.
• Various tag games with different rules

See also[link]

• Fen skating
• Figure Skating
• Kite ice skating
• Speed skating
• Tour Skating

References[link]

• Formenti F. and Minetti A.E. (2007) Human locomotion on ice: the evolution of ice skating energetics through history
• Formenti F. and Minetti A.E. (2008) The first humans travelling on ice: an energy saving strategy? ice skating.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ice skating

Look up ice skating in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Ice skating at the Open Directory Project
• Scientific Papers

Sasha Cohen
Cohen performs an arabesque spiral at the 2009 Stars on Ice.
Personal information
Full name	Alexandra Pauline Cohen
Country represented	United States
Born	(1984-10-26) October 26, 1984 (age 27) Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Home town	Newport Beach, California
Height	1.58 m (5 ft 2 in)
Coach	John Nicks
Former coach	Rafael Arutunian, John Nicks, Tatiana Tarasova, Robin Wagner
Choreographer	Lori Nichol, Nikolai Morozov
Former choreographer	David Wilson, Tatiana Tarasova, Marina Zoueva, Igor Shpilband, Robin Wagner, Ekaterina Gordeeva
Skating club	Orange County FSC
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	197.60 2003 Skate Canada
Short program	71.12 2003 Skate Canada
Free skate	130.89 2003 Skate America
Medal record Competitor for the  United States Ladies' Figure skating Olympic Games Silver 2006 Turin Ladies' singles World Championships Silver 2004 Dortmund Ladies' singles Silver 2005 Moscow Ladies' singles Bronze 2006 Calgary Ladies' singles Grand Prix Final Gold 2002–03 St. Petersburg Ladies' singles Silver 2003–04 Colorado Springs Ladies' singles

Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a U.S. figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion.

Personal life[link]

Cohen was born in Westwood, California, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Her full name is Alexandra Pauline Cohen.^[1] Her nickname "Sasha" is a Russian diminutive of "Alexandra".^[1] As a university student, she has used the name Alex, rather than Sasha.^[1]

Her mother, Galina (née Feldman), is a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine and a former ballet dancer.

Her father, Roger Cohen, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law. Roger Cohen was formerly a law partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, and Of Counsel at Dorsey and Whitney^[2][3]. He is Founder and CEO of VerticalPoint Solutions, a company that simplifies and automates compliance for document intensive industries. VerticalPoint is based in Orange County, California.[1]

Sasha Cohen graduated from Futures High School in Mission Viejo, California in 2002. As of 2011, she was enrolled as an undergraduate student at Columbia University.^[4][1] Her sister, Natalia ("Natasha"), began college at Barnard College in August 2006.

In 2005, Cohen published her autobiography, Fire on Ice. The autobiography was republished in 2006 adding a new chapter on the 2006 season.

Cohen understands the Russian language.^[5]

Skating career[link]

Early career[link]

A gymnast from an early age, Cohen switched to figure skating when she was seven years old, but it wasn't until she was eleven that she began to take the sport seriously. One of her early skating coaches, Victor Yelchin, was the father of actor Anton Yelchin.^[6]

Cohen rose to prominence in the skating community during the 2000 U.S. Championships. Just up from juniors, Cohen dropped from first place after the short program to second after the free skating and qualified for the world team. Too young for the 2000 World Championships, a loophole at the time would have allowed her to compete in senior worlds if she medaled at the World Junior Championships. Cohen did not medal at world juniors. Hence, she did not qualify for the senior worlds.

Senior development and success[link]

Cohen did not compete at the 2001 Nationals due to a stress fracture in her back,^{[citation needed]} but took back her silver medal at the 2002 U.S. championships, earning her a trip to the Olympics. Cohen competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, finishing 4th. She also finished 4th at the 2002 World Championships, held in Nagano.

Cohen switched coaches from John Nicks to Tatiana Tarasova in the 2002–03 season. She won her first ISU Grand Prix event in the 2002 Skate Canada and repeating as gold medalist in the 2002 Trophée Lalique. She finished second in the 2002 Cup of Russia. These three placements earned her a spot to the 2002–2003 Grand Prix Final, where she became the champion. At the 2003 U.S. championships she won the bronze medal, and at the 2003 World Championships, held in Washington, D.C., Cohen placed 4th, repeating her placement in the previous season.

Her best season was 2003–04, when she took gold at the 2003 Skate America, at the 2003 Skate Canada (setting a world record in the short program) and at the 2003 Trophée Lalique and won silver at the 2003–2004 Grand Prix Final. She changed her coach in the middle of the season, moving from Tatiana Tarasova to Robin Wagner, and placed second at both the 2004 U.S. Championships and the 2004 World Championships, getting a medal at Worlds for the first time in her career.

Cohen decided to go back to her first coach John Nicks in the 2004–05 season. She withdrew from the 2005 ISU Grand Prix events due to a recurring back injury. She placed 2nd at the 2005 U.S. championships in Portland and the 2005 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

2006 Olympic season[link]

Sasha Cohen started her Olympic season by placing 1st at the Campbell's International Figure Skating Challenge. Soon after she withdrew from Skate America due to a hip injury. She took 2nd place at Trophée Eric Bompard, where she fell on a triple salchow during her free skate. In 2006, Cohen overcame the flu to capture her first U.S. championship. With this victory Cohen automatically secured her place on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics, a spot made official on January 14 of that year by the United States Figure Skating Association.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Cohen was in 1st after the short program, leading Russia's Irina Slutskaya by a mere .03 points. In the final free skate, Cohen fell on her first jump, a triple lutz, and had her hands down on her second jump, the triple flip. She completed the rest of her elements, including five triples. Cohen finished with an Olympic silver medal, 7.98 points behind gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa of Japan.

A month later at the 2006 World Championships in Calgary, Canada, Cohen was in 1st place after the short program. Completing only one jump combination and falling on the triple salchow, she placed fourth in the free skate and won the bronze medal, finishing almost ten points behind her teammate, gold medalist Kimmie Meissner. Cohen displayed strong presentation in her free skate and picked up level fours on all her spins and her spiral sequence. Her program component score of 61.35 was the highest of the night.

Post 2006 Olympics[link]

Cohen performs an I-spin at the 2009 Stars on Ice.

In April 2006, Cohen started the Champions on Ice tour, participated in the second annual "Skating with the Stars, Under the Stars" gala in Central Park and performed in the Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating International Showcase. On April 15, 2006, Cohen announced that she intended to compete in the 2010 season and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She said via her official website, "I will decide after the COI Tour how much skating and what events I will do next season."

In December 2006, Cohen announced that she needed "a little downtime from competing" and that she would not defend her US Figure Skating Championship title in 2007. She again stressed that her "major goals" were the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Olympics; "I know I want to be in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics."^[7]

Cohen did not compete in 2007, 2008, or 2009, although she did not give up her Olympic eligibility. She performed in exhibitions, including the Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting and USFSA-approved events. She was a headliner in the 2007–08 and 2008–09 Stars on Ice tour.

Return to competition[link]

Cohen announced on May 6, 2009 that she planned to make a comeback for the 2010 Winter Olympics.^[8] She received invitations to compete in the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and in the 2009 Skate America in the 2009–2010 Grand Prix Series. Cohen was forced to withdraw from both of her planned Grand Prix events due to an injury to her calf.

On January 21, 2010 Cohen finally took to the competitive ice for the first time in four years at the 2010 U.S. Championships in Spokane, Washington. She debuted her program to España Cañí, and skated a strong performance landing a triple lutz-double toe, a triple flip, a double axel, along with her signature spiral sequence and spins earning 69.63 points putting her in second place, just 0.43 from first place finisher Mirai Nagasu. However, her free skate, set to Moonlight Sonata, was filled with errors; she fell on a triple flip and had two-footed landings on a number of other jumps. Cohen finished fourth in the championships, behind Rachael Flatt, Mirai Nagasu and Ashley Wagner, and was not selected for the Olympic team, however was appointed as second alternate to the 2010 U.S. Olympic team and the 2010 World Championship team.

Coaching changes[link]

Sasha Cohen was coached by John Nicks until the summer of 2002, when she relocated to Simsbury, Connecticut to train with Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova, who choreographed Cohen's Swan Lake program and upgraded her footwork.^[9] Under Tarasova's coaching, Cohen landed her first triple-triple combination in competition, a triple lutz-triple toe. Also, Cohen completed her first clean free skate in the qualifying round at the 2003 World Championships.

She changed coaches again in January 2004 to Robin Wagner (who coached Sarah Hughes to Olympic gold) in Hackensack, New Jersey. In December 2004, Cohen returned to California to work with her original coach, John Nicks, who trained her to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Nicks, who is very knowledgeable on the Code of Points system, helped Cohen increase the difficulty of her spins and spirals, as well as her jumps, to maximize her performances under the new system.

With her announcement of a comeback on May 6, 2009, she also announced that she would train with Rafael Arutunian, instead of her former coach John Nicks.^[10]

On November 2009, she returned to train with John Nicks.^[11]

Skating trademarks[link]

Cohen performs an I-spin at the 2003 Skate Canada.

Cohen is known for being a talented skater. However, some of her critics believe she has never skated two clean programs in a row.^[12][13]

Cohen is the first skater to have received +3s for spirals in the new judging system for 'Grade of Execution'.^[14] She is also known for difficult and creative positions in her spins, such as the "I" spin position which she popularized, and is also sometimes informally referred to as the "Sasha spin."^[15]

Public life and endorsements[link]

Cohen has participated in the ice show Stars On Ice for several years, as well as starring in the 2010 Art On Ice alongside Stéphane Lambiel.

She joined 2010 Olympic ladies champion Kim Yu-Na in the All That Skate ice show, scheduled for July 23–25, 2010 in Goyang, South Korea, alongside other skaters including Michelle Kwan, Stéphane Lambiel and Brian Joubert.^[16]

Acting career[link]

Television[link]

Cohen has done commercials for Citizen Watch, Simply Saline, and Got Milk?. She appeared in Episode 7 of the second season of Project Runway wherein designers were challenged to design a skating dress for her. The winning dress (by Zulema Griffin) did not fit and the dress had to be resized. Cohen made a brief appearance guest starring as herself on the May 5, 2006 episode of the NBC drama, Las Vegas.^[17] In April 2008, she appeared as a contortionist on the premiere episode of Secret Talents of the Stars and advanced to the semifinals, although the show was cancelled before she could perform again. She made a guest appearance as an ice skater in CSI: NY season 3 episode 12 "Silent Night".

Film[link]

Cohen played Fiona Hughes in the Don Johnson movie Moondance Alexander.^[18] At the 2006 Academy Awards, Cohen served as a guest correspondent for Inside Edition. This experience led to an encounter with Ben Stiller and a discussion about having a part in a future comedy about figure skating, which Cohen said she would enjoy. In 2007, she appeared as herself in Blades of Glory. Later that year, she also had a role in Bratz: The Movie.

Programs[link]

Cohen performs a Biellmann spiral on the 2008 Stars on Ice tour stop in Halifax.

Competitive highlights[link]

• Cohen did not compete 2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 season.
• N = Novice level; J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

Detailed results[link]

Post-2001[link]

From left to right, Kimmie Meissner (silver), Sasha Cohen (gold), Emily Hughes (bronze), and Katy Taylor (pewter) at the 2006 U.S Nationals.

2001 and earlier[link]

• 2001: Goodwill Games – 4th; Finlandia Trophy – 1st
• 2000: U.S. Championships – 2nd; World Junior Championships – 6th; Cup of Russia – 4th
• 1999: U.S. Championships, Junior – 2nd

See also[link]

• List of select Jewish figure skaters

Further reading[link]

• Cohen, Sasha. (2006). Fire on Ice (Revised Edition): Autobiography of a Champion Figure Skater. Collins. ISBN 0-06-115385-0

References[link]

• Winter Olympics scores
  • 2006 Winter Olympics, 2002 Winter Olympics
• World Championships scores
  • 2006 Worlds, 2005 Worlds, 2004 Worlds, 2003 Worlds, 2002 Worlds
• ISU Grand Prix Finals
  • 2003–04 GPF, 2002–03 GPF
• United States Nationals scores
  • 2006 Nationals, 2005 Nationals, 2004 Nationals, 2003 Nationals, 2002 Nationals, 2000 Nationals

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sasha Cohen

• Official website
• Sasha Cohen at the United States Figure Skating Association
• Sasha Cohen at the International Skating Union
• Sasha Cohen at the Internet Movie Database
• Sasha Cohen

Kim Yuna 김연아 金姸兒
Kim Yuna at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics
Personal information
Full name	Yuna Kim
Alternative names	Kim Yuna
Born	(1990-09-05) September 5, 1990 (age 21) Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Residence	Seoul, South Korea
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in)
Coach	Peter Oppegard
Former coach	Brian Orser Seyeol Kim Hyeonjeong Ji Hyesuk Shin Jonghyeon Ryu
Choreographer	David Wilson
Former choreographer	Sandra Bezic Tom Dickson Jeffrey Buttle Seyeol Kim Catarina Lindgren Hyeonjeong Ji
Began skating	1996
World standing	48 (As of 29 April 2012 (2012 -04-29)[update])[1]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	228.56 (WR) 2010 Winter Olympics
Short program	78.50 (WR) 2010 Winter Olympics
Free skate	150.06 (WR) 2010 Winter Olympics
Medal record Competitor for  South Korea Ladies' Figure skating Olympic Games Gold 2010 Vancouver Singles World Championships Gold 2009 Los Angeles Singles Silver 2010 Turin Singles Silver 2011 Moscow Singles Bronze 2007 Tokyo Singles Bronze 2008 Gothenburg Singles Four Continents Championships Gold 2009 Vancouver Singles Grand Prix Final Gold 2009–10 Tokyo Singles Silver 2008–09 Goyang Singles Gold 2007–08 Turin Singles Gold 2006–07 St. Petersburgh Singles World Junior Championships Gold 2006 Ljubljana Singles Silver 2005 Kitchener Singles Junior Grand Prix Final Gold 2005–2006 Ostrava Singles Silver 2004–2005 Helsinki Singles

This article contains Korean text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hangul or Hanja.

Kim Yuna (Hangul: 김연아, Hanja: 金姸兒, IPA: [kimjʌna]; born September 5, 1990) is a South Korean figure skater.

She is the 2010 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, the 2009 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time (2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2009–2010) Grand Prix Final champion, the 2006 World Junior champion, the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a four-time (2002–2005) South Korean national champion.

Kim is the first South Korean figure skater to win a medal at an ISU Junior or Senior Grand Prix event, ISU Championship, and the Olympic Games. She is the first female skater to win the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the Four Continents Championships and the Grand Prix Final. She is one of the most highly recognized athletes and media figures in South Korea.^[3]

She is the current record holder for ladies in the short program,^[4] the free skating^[5] and the combined total^[6] under the ISU Judging System. She is also the first female skater to surpass the 150-point free skating mark^[5] and the 200-point total mark^[6] under the ISU Judging System. She has never been placed off the podium in her entire career.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Kim was born in 1990 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi and moved to Gunpo when she was six years old. She trained initially in South Korea before spending four years training in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She currently trains in Seoul and Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

In 2008, Kim was baptized as a Catholic alongside her mother, taking the saint's name Stella.^[8] In 2009, Kim enrolled at Korea University as a Physical Education major.^[9]

The correct transliteration of her name from Korean would be 'Kim Yeona'.^[10] However, when she applied for her passport, she intended to write her name as 'Yun-a', but the official mis-wrote her name as 'Yu-na'. In Hangul, 'Yun-a' would properly be spelled "연아" and not "유나."^[11] From the 2010–2011 season, her name was registered as 'Yuna Kim' at ISU profile.^[12]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Kim began skating at the age of 7. Her coach at the time, Jong-Hyeon Ryu, strongly suggested to Kim's mother that Kim should continue to skate, predicting that she would become a world-class figure skater in the future.^[13] In a 2011 interview, she gave credit to her coaches for noticing her aptness for skating, "My coaches have told me my muscles and body structure are perfect for skating. I was born with a good instrument, maybe more so than the talent. I was lucky my coaches noticed early on and helped me develop that. A lot of people don't know they are born that way."^[14]

In 2002, Kim competed internationally for the first time at the Triglav Trophy, where she won the gold medal in the novice competition. A year later, at age 12, she won the senior title at the South Korean Championships, becoming the youngest skater ever to win that title. She won her second international competition at the Golden Bear of Zagreb, a novice competition. She continued her reign as the South Korean champion in 2004.

Junior career[link]

2004–2005 season[link]

In the 2004–2005 season, Kim competed as a junior at the ISU Junior Grand Prix. She won a silver medal at the event in China and a gold medal at the event in Hungary. She won a silver medal at the 2004–2005 Junior Grand Prix Final with an overall score of 137.75 points.

She retained her National Championship title for the third year in a row on her way to the 2005 World Junior Championships. At that competition, she won a silver medal earning 158.93 points and landed her first triple-triple combination jump in the free skating.

2005–2006 season[link]

For the 2005–2006 season, Kim was not old enough to compete at the 2006 Olympics, even if South Korea earned a spot at the final qualifying competition, the 2005 Karl Schäfer Memorial.

Instead, she competed in the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix and won both of her competitions in Bulgaria and Slovakia. At the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix Final, she won the competition 28.34 points ahead of silver medalist Aki Sawada. During her free skate, she landed seven triple jumps, including a triple flip – triple toe loop combination and a double axel – triple toe loop combination.

Kim won her fourth senior national title. At the 2006 World Junior Championships, she won the gold medal scoring 177.54 points overall, with a 24.19-point margin of victory over silver medalist Mao Asada.

Senior career[link]

2006–2007 season[link]

Kim performing her free skate to The Lark Ascending at the 2006 Skate Canada.

In order to prepare for her senior debut in the 2006–2007 season, Kim trained extensively at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club of Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the summer of 2006.

Kim made her senior international debut at 2006 Skate Canada where she won a bronze medal after being placed first at the short program and fourth in the free skate program with a total overall score of 168.48 points.

At the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard, Kim received a score of 65.22 in the short program and 119.32 in the free skate, placing first both of them and won the event with 184.54 points, 10.10 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. Those performances qualified Kim for the Grand Prix Final for the first time.

At the 2006 Grand Prix Final in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kim placed third in the short program with 65.06 points and first in the free skating with 119.14. She won the Grand Prix Final earning 184.20 points, by a margin of 11.68 ahead over silver medalist Mao Asada.

Kim was forced to withdraw due to an injury at the 2007 South Korean Championships and was unable to defend her national title. In January 2007, Kim was diagnosed as being in the early stage of lumbar disc herniation (L₄~L₅).^[15]

Kim was selected to compete at the 2007 World Championships based on her performance during the season. Because of the placement of Choi Ji Eun the year before, South Korea had only one spot in the World Championships. During the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Kim won the short program with 71.95 points, setting the highest short program score ever under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record.^[16] She placed fourth in the long program earning 114.19 points, and finished third overall with 186.14 points behind Japanese skaters Miki Ando and Mao Asada. Kim's placement qualified South Korea two ladies entries for the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships.^[17] Kim was the only lady skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and the free skating programs in the 2006–2007 season.

In March 2007, Brian Orser became her new full-time coach. Satisfied with the training environment in Toronto, Kim made Toronto her training home.^[3]

2007–2008 season[link]

Kim was assigned to the 2007 Cup of China and the 2007 Cup of Russia Grand Prix for the 2007–2008 ISU Grand Prix season.

Kim started off the 2007–2008 season winning the 2007 Cup of China with a total score of 180.68 points, which was 24.34 ahead of silver medalist Caroline Zhang. She landed a triple flip-single toe loop combination, a triple Lutz, a double Axel and placed 3rd in the short program. But the next day, she hit a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, triple lutz-double toe loop combination, double axel-triple toe loop combination, a single lutz, a triple salchow, a double axel and three level-four spins to score 122.36 points in the free skating.

At the 2007 Cup of Russia, Kim won both the short program scoring 63.50 points and the free skate with 133.70 points, to finish first overall with 197.20 points, 24.43 ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano, which set a world record for the free skate score under the ISU Judging System. She executed triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple loop, a triple lutz-double toe loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz, triple salchow and double axel.^[18]

Kim qualified for the 2007–2008 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy. She won the short program with 64.62 points and was placed second in the free skate earning 132.21. With a total score of 196.83 points, Kim won her second Grand Prix Final.

Kim did not compete at the 2008 Korean National Championships and the 2008 Four Continents Championships due to a hip injury.

With persistent hip injury and back pain, she competed at the 2008 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. She scored 183.23 points overall, winning her second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships.

2008–2009 season[link]

Kim performing her short program to Danse Macabre at the 2009 World Championships.

Kim was assigned to the 2008 Skate America and the 2008 Cup of China Grand Prix for the 2008–2009 ISU Grand Prix season.

At the 2008 Skate America, Kim was placed first in the short program with a score of 69.50, standing out by the margin of 11.70 points despite a trouble in her double axel.^[19] She went on to capture the ladies title by winning the free skate as well with a score of 123.95. She won the event earning 193.45 points overall, a score that was more than 20 points ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano of Japan.

Her success continued at the 2008 Cup of China, where she received a score of 63.64 in the short program and 128.11 in the free skate, placing first in both of them. The combined total of 191.75 was nearly 21 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando of Japan. Her performance qualified her for a spot in the Grand Prix Final.

During the 2008–2009 Grand Prix Final, which was held in Goyang, South Korea, she was placed first in the short program with 65.94 points and second in the free skate where she earned 120.41 points. She won silver medal with a total score of 186.35 points, 2.20 behind Mao Asada of Japan.

Kim competed in the 2009 Four Continents in Vancouver, Canada. She set a new world record of 72.24 points in the short program with a clean performance.^[20] She scored 116.83 in the free skating program, keeping the lead with 189.07 points overall and winning the gold medal.

During the 2009 World Championships, held in Los Angeles, United States, she set another new world record of 76.12 points in the short program, surpassing her previous record by almost four points.^[21] She performed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel as well as earning a level four on all her spins and her spiral sequence. She also won the free skating program, scoring 131.59 points and showing great presentation skills with her artistry and her musicality. She executed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a double axel, a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel. As a result, she set a new world record total of 207.71 as well as winning her first World Championship title and she became the first female skater to surpass 200 points^[22] under the ISU Judging System. Her margin of victory was 16.42 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. She was the only competitor who earned eights in program components marks in both the short program and the free skate at the competition.^[23][24] Kim was the only female skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and free programs during the 2008–2009 season.^[25][26]

2009–2010 season[link]

Kim performing her short program to the 007 James Bond Medley at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard.