Yu-Na Kim wins the word championships!

Yes!! Finally it happened, my favourite Korean skater Yu-Na Kim won the gold medal in the ladies program, and it makes world champion 2009!

Well almost the entire program was flawless (she only missed one jump) and with this stunning performance the other competitors had no chance of beating her. Not only her jumps are amzing, she also has a great expression and her skating itself is most delicate, just like Yu-Na Kim herself is.

She ended up with 16!! more points than second place Canadian Rochette, never seen such a huge gap like that before. Third place went to Japanese former world champion Miki Ando, Japan always has a very strong team with Mao Asada (2008 world champion) on fourth place. Yukari Nakano (4th in 2008) didn't even compete in Los Angeles!

Yu Na Kim is probably the most talented figure skater of the 21st century, towards Vancouver 2008 she will be chasing perfection to become the new Olympic champion.

Congratulations Yu-Na Kim, your tears during the national anthem were beautiful as well!

Figure Skating World Championships Los Angeles 2009: Pairs, short program

After the magnificent World Championships in Göteborg 2008 (the ladies long program still is before my eyes like it is happening today), the new championships have started in Los Angeles!

Most important of this first day was the short program for pairs. Immediately the tournament is exciting cause after the short program the gaps for and between the medal places are not too high. On third place we see the Chinese pair Peng/Tong, their skating was pretty good, it only sometimes just lacked a bit in presentation. Second placed is the Russian pair Smirnov/Kavaguti (though most people will know her as ‘Kawaguchi’) who surprised me in a very good way. They make their way to he top really fast! It was a beautiful dramatic performance from the beginning to the end, with a perfect choice of music, because they skated on ‘the swan’ and Kavaguti in her white costume really looked like one. First placed is the German pair Szolkowy/Savchenko, not really a surprise at all because their performance was almost flawless! I only didn’t like the ‘spiral of death’ too much, it didn’t look to elegant.

A perfect way to start a world championship, though I have to admit I can’t wait till Friday when my favorite Yu Na Kim will appear on the ice! But for now the long program of the pairs will be exciting enough!

Figure skating 2008/2009 starts with a win for Yu-Na Kim

© Getty Images

Swirling upon the ice, reaching for the roof and performing difficult combinations. The competition has started! The figure skaters competed in Everett, USA. After along, long wait from the world championships in Göteborg they have begun the new road to the next world championships! Though, it seems like the final of the woman skaters in Göteborg just was one week ago. The excitement of that competition, well I doubt if it ever will get more intense. In Everett, my favourite and most spectacular figure skater, Yu-Na Kim, won in the woman category. The first is being made!!Yukari Nakano was second and the world champion of two years ago, Miki Ando, ended in third place.

Nobody knows (Dare Mo Shiranai) (Japan, 2004)

'Nobody knows' (Dare mo Shiranai) is a Japanese film by Hirokazu Koreeda. It's about a single mother who moves into a small appartment. At first it seems she has only one child, but two more childs are hidden in suitcases, while another child has to picked up at the train station.

This mom leaves her children to chase her own happiness and her twelve year old son has to be responsible for her children. As you can guess, money is short and the children have to find a way living without gas, water and electricity.

It's based on a true story but this film is less miserable. The children seem okay, while in real they were poorly developed (they couldn't go to school).

This film is really great. It contains all things necessary. Though it's painfull to watch there are sweet warm and funny moments. Above all it is heartbreaking to watch, luckily it doesn't rely entirely on the tragic part of the story. Though in the end it will probably make you feel very depressed.

It lacks any action, but if you wanna try some great film which you have never seen before you just have to go to get this film!

Figure Skating World Championships 2008 Göteborg... Mao Asada

World championships figure skating at Göteborg, Sweden.

The free program for the ladies was skated on thursday night and what can you say about it. I guess there is just one thing to say!!! Absolutely stunning! How exciting and breathtaking it was! To see the final you have to posess very strong nerves cause it was really really nervebreaking!!
It started with Carlonina Kostner, the Italian woman who skated okay but not brilliantly.... Yu Na Kim who feel in the short program was 5 points behind and skated fantastic!! I think it was the best program of all ladies but it just wasn't enough.... She had a very special comeback but in the end she lacked 0.6 points. Well, she is only 17 and in my eyes she really is the very best in the world so next year she will have another chance to reign.

But it wasn't over at all after Yu Na Kim. Mao Asada was only 0.18 behind after the short program. She started and in her way to make her first jump she fell, she fell really hard. The audience was shocked and Asada seemed to be out for title candidat. One way or another she gave her all after her faal and everything was perfect! It's was so beautiful to watch, so dramatic and exciting I don't blame people for closing their eyes. Everyone had a hard time watching something so exciting and brilliant. Waiting for her points, the suspense was unbearable.... and.... Yes she won by one point! Mao Asada is the new world champion. Congratulations so much!
After Asada Yukari Nakano skated really wonderful and was given to little by the judges. She ended in fourth position.

What happened to former World champion Miki Ando? She started but injured herself. Sadness filled my heart when a single tear flew over her cheek. I hope the injury won't be too bad.

Asada, Koster, Yu Na Kim and Nakano... you really made this night a very special one! Thank you very much!

Figure skating 2007/2008

Well the figure skating season has begun! Last saturday I watched an exhibition gala from Ingolstadt, Germany on television. What will it be this year...will Yu Na Kim this year take the gold in the world championships or wil Miki Ando strike again? We will know it in March when the world championships will be held from 16 till 23 March at Göteborg, Sweden! I hope it will be a great season!!

The first real matches were this weekend at quebec city Canada. Brian Joubert won the golden medal in men, van der Parre was second..very good my neighbour Belgium! In the women race Mao Asada took the gold in front of Yukari Nakano! The gold medal in pair skating went to Savchenko/Szolkowy. Silver medalist were Dube/Davison!

A beautiful picture of high favourite and winner Mao Asada


Next week the GP of China at Harbin!

Miki Ando

Today was the pretty exciting free programm for ladies at the world championships figure skating. The favourite Kim Yu-Na did not skate as brilliantly as yesterday and finsished in the results as third. Mao Asada skated brilliant and reached the second place, while yesterday she became fifth. The new world champion is also from Japan, it's Miki Ando!! She did a great job and was emotionally very touched after hearing she was the new world champion. It was very emotional moving to see this, she deserved this victory! So congratulations Miki Ando!!