Korean magic spins gold on ice

Korean magic spins gold on ice

DUNEDIN, New Zealand (August 13, 2011) - The Korean National Anthem rang out three times today at the Medal Ceremony for the KIA Figure Skating at the 100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games. Korean skaters wowed the crowd on their way to taking Gold in the Junior Men’s, Junior Women’s and the Senior Women’s titles. Australia won Gold in the Senior Men’s event.

At the Dunedin Ice Stadium the darling of the crowd, Min Jeong Kwak (KOR), was a vision of sheer beauty as she skated her way to Gold in the Senior Women’s competition. This high ranking Olympic figure skater wove magic into her every move captivating the crowd with her poise and grace. Her team mate in the Junior Women’s competition, Hae Jin Kim also charmed the crowd with her superb artistry on ice and had an even more emphatic win to take Gold finishing 48 points ahead of the Silver Medal winner Chantelle Kerry from Australia.

In the Men’s Junior competition Dong Won Lee (KOR) was outclassed by David Kranjec (AUS) by just one point in the free skating programme, unfortunately for the Australian his total competition score was not high enough to edge out the Korean from the top podium position.

Jina Kim, a Korean Olympic Committee member, travelling with the Korean team said she was thrilled with her team’s medals. “We are very happy. Korea won a number of medals at the Winter Games in 2009 and we are happy to have returned and repeated our winning form.” Korea will host the Winter Olympics in 2018.

The Senior Men’s Competition was tightly fought with yesterday’s competition leaders jostling for position. Nicholas Fernandez (AUS), who has returned to skating after a year off and who began the day in second place, pulled out a great performance including a personal best for his artistic component and took the Gold from close contender Kiwi Cameron Hems.

Sandra Williamson Ledley, the President of the New Zealand Ice Skating Association and a Judging Official said the international event at the Winter Games has been a fantastic success. “The Koreans have been as outstanding as usual. We love them coming here. It’s fantastic for our skaters and our audiences to see that level of performance.

“For many New Zealand skaters this has been their first opportunity to skate against other countries and many have scored personal bests. The entire event has been brilliant for the sport.”

The full list of medal winners is:

Senior Women: Gold - Min Jeong Kwak (KOR), Silver – Morgan Figgins (NZL), Bronze – Zara Pasfield (AUS). Senior Men: Gold –Nicholas Fernandez (AUS), Silver – Cameron Hems( NZL), Bronze –Andrew Dodds (AUS). Junior Women: Gold – Hae Jin Kim (KOR), Silver –Chantelle Kerry (AUS), Bronze – Taylor Dean (AUS). Junior Men: Gold – Dong Won Lee (KOR), Silver - David Kranjec (AUS), Bronze – Brendan Kerry (AUS). Novice Women: Gold – Iyrin Quigley (NZL), Silver – Eiland Kenyon (AUS), Bronze – Kirsten Hargreaves (AUS). Novice Men: Gold- Alex Dillon (AUS), Silver - Charlton Doherty(AUS), Bronze – Thomas Woodbridge (NZL).

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