Training Time

It has to be tough to be an Olympic Champion, make the choice to continue competing, and then actually find time to train. What do you do when the whole world is at your grasp? Say no thank you and get to work at the rink or reap the benefits of success.

Kim Yu-Na (much like Evan Lysacek) has opted for both, but with each passing day her schedule gets more and more busy and not with training time but rather celeb status bookings.

Kim has already stated she will not compete this fall and will instead focus on the World Championships next season in Tokyo. But when does she plan on training for that event? Her life has, understandably, been a whirlwind since Vancouver. Endorsements, shows, awards...you name it, she has done it. And her schedule this fall isn't getting any easier. She is planning on bringing her show from Seoul to L.A. in October and she was just named an Ambassador to the G20 Summit back in Seoul in November.

While she's dazzling crowds and bumping elbows with world leaders, her competition will be in front of judges on the Grand Prix series perfecting their programs.

Assuming she was able to begin full training at the end of November, would she be ready by World's. I think likely but do you want that competition to be your first? It rarely works out when skaters make their season debut at the last competition of the season. She could debut at Four Continents Cup but would that provide the training time needed? A conundrum indeed.

I think in figure skating it is very hard to have your cake and eat it too!