North Korean figure-skaters have ambitions to be the world's best

Record ID: 986779

  • Title: North Korean figure-skaters have ambitions to be the world's best
  • Date: 24th January 2018
  • Summary: TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN (JANUARY 24, 2018) (REUTERS) KIM JU-SIK CROSSING THE ROAD, SURROUNDED BY NORTH KOREAN TEAM OFFICIALS AND SECURITY CLOSE OF KIM JU-SIK KIM JU-SIK WALKING, SURROUNDED BY MEDIA AND SECURITY
  • Embargoed: 7th February 2018 11:31
  • Keywords: Kim Ju-Sik Ryom Tae-Ok Bruno Marcotte North Korea South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
  • Location: TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN /WARSAW, POLAND / OBERSTDORF, GERMANY
  • City: TAIPEI CITY, TAIWAN /WARSAW, POLAND / OBERSTDORF, GERMANY
  • Country: North Korea
  • Topics: Figure Skating,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0057ZGYEYN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Bruno Marcotte, the French Canadian figure skating coach of North Korean pairs skaters Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik, says they want to become world champions.
    Ryom Tae-ok, 18, and Kim Ju-sik, 25, became the first North Koreans to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, qualifying last September in Germany, after working with Marcotte since March of this year.
    They are currently competing in the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taiwan while officials from South and North Korea work to combine their forces for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
    Ryom and Kim finished fourth in the pairs short program on Wednesday (January 24) and they will feature in the pairs free skating on Friday (January 26).
    The International Olympic Committee has announced that North Korea will send athletes in ice hockey, figure-skating, short-track ice skating, cross-country and alpine skiing to Pyeongchang where they will form a unified team with South Korean athletes.
    Marcotte said in November, after qualification, that the pair have "so much potential" but he suspects their focus is on becoming the world champions rather than winning at the Olympic Games as they did not talk about the Games in Pyeongchang at the time.
    The talks between North and South Korea on the Olympics have brought some respite from the standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes.
    Technically the two neighbouring countries are still at war since the 1953 conflict. North Korea boycotted the 1988 Summer Olympics in South Korea's Seoul.
    Marcotte, a former skater himself, admitted that he was pleasantly surprised at the friendly way Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik have treated him, each giving him a hug after every lesson.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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