Olympic update: Kim Yu-na shows The Right Stuff under pressure and skates her way into the Gold.
Evan Lysacek has drawn praise on our blog and in the wider world for his stellar skating and classy behavior (see Angela Still’s excellent post below). Will Lysacek come out of these Olympics a ‘celebrity’?
And how about that newly minted gold-medalist Kim Yu-na, already a superstar in her own South Korea and now ‘the queen’ of women’s figure skating? 
Not all Gold medalists become ‘celebrities.’ Who will win the Celeb. Medals (sometimes a dubious prize) in the form of bankable star-power, super-sized endorsement deals and worldwide fame? 
Personality and charisma and life stories and that celebrity X-factor all come into play. Which of the super-athletes we’ve seen this Olympics will ‘break out’ and become household names we will be watching and talking about for years to come?
Let us know your vote for the 2010 Celeb. Medals. Hunky Bode Miller or Shaun White? Dynamic Lindsey Vonn or valiant Joann Rochette? They’re all deserving but who will capture the fickle public fancy? Let the celebrity games begin…
(photos: nbc.com, nydailynews.com, nytimes.com)
FUN QUESTION BUT YOU LEAVE OUT AN L-WORD BESIDES LIFE STORIES- LOOKS
LINDSEY VONN IS A MAJOR ATHLETE PLUS A MAJOR BABE
A STAR IS BORN
LOL and so true, Anti. You got me. How could I not have mentioned ‘looks’ on that list. And yes, Lindsey is a knockout…
YEAH, GOTTA ADD TOO ON THE MEN’S COMPETITION SIDE:
Ol’ BODE IS SEEN AS BODE-ACIOUS
AND EVEN IF HE HADN’T NABBED A GOLD,
HE’D NAIL THOSE AD GIGS W/ THE BODE BOD.
Hi again Anti–
Yes in the Men’s Competition we can’t ignore the Bode Man–
and glad to know someone besides me even remembers the word
‘bodacious’…
Kim Yu-Na has all the right moves and she is justly celebrated in her home country.
I’m not sure the whole world will embrace her even if, as expected, she wins the gold.
She does have that Ice Princess quality that some love and some hate. She was a perfect
performer and ‘cool’ in every sense in the short program. Will be interested to see how she
holds up under the big pressure tonight; her jumps have been known to throw her.
Joann Rochette is the sentimental favorite for the bronze.
Takahashi won the first Olympic medal ever (bronze) in men’s figure skating for Japan this year. I adored his energetic and stylish short program — and his long program was nearly flawless. Keep an eye out for him to take the gold at the next Olympics.
Thanks for the Takahashi tip, Caitlin– I know you are an expert on figure skating among your other talents so I appreciate you weighing in here!
Elizabeth
PS: this just in from CAITLIN:
This just in: Lysacek may be doing “Dancing with the Stars”!
http://tv.msn.com/the-wrap/evan-lysacek/story/?gt1=28103
So score one for Evan in the Celeb. Medal Race!
I have to take back what I said earlier. Kim Yu-Na seemed like a cool ice princess type in the short
program but tonight she was full of emotion as well as princess perfection
Hi Jeff,
Yes, I agree–
Tonight we all could see why she is truly
THE QUEEN!
Agreed! Watching her cry through her smile brought tears to my eyes. She has all the makings of a star.
I’m putting money down on Shaun White. I mean…the Double McTwist 1260. The complete suspension of time and gravity… Already had the gold cinched and decided to go for it. Unless I’m wrong here, I recall that when he started out, a young kid turning pro, he was a little cockier-than-thou on the interview circuit. And who wouldn’t be at 13, suddenly turning into a mega-billboard for sports companies? But I did see him on a post-Olympic show recently where he was genuine as they come or…he has been exquisitely coached to convey genuine-as-they-come. In any case, the fact that he hasn’t derailed and been on anyone’s addict roster, and has that monstrous dedication to his craft, gives him the potential for serious role model, and in our whacked society, that’s a good thing. So Shaun, you have my vote.
Hi Lise–
Well-put, as always. Who can argue with “The complete suspension of time and gravity”? And yes, Shaun W. seems to have gotten a grip on showing grace outside ‘the arena’ too. Thanks for stopping by– always good to get sports commentary from the author of the super-hot action-packed novel GIRL IN THE ARENA!
Lindsey Vonn has already commented on Tiger Woods and expressed a (public) interest in guest hosting SNL. She’s got “Sporty Spice” written all over her…LOL.
Hi Beth and thanks for providing my favorite phrase of the week–
‘sporty spice’– love it! Always good to hear from you!
Shaun White, the flying tomato, has real star quality. He was on Colbert’s show and on Jay Leno and is the genuine article. He has already been chosen to endorse Red Bull(how appropriate) and I can see a future in movies or TV–he is charming and not self impressed and very attractive, in addition to being a gifted athlete. Although I do not remember their names, I will always remember the American skate dancing couple who danced with amazing energy and passion to “Phantom of the Opera” music. The best night of the two weeks was the last Thursday when they had the six women skaters doing their long program without commercial interruption…it was memorable.
Hi Barb–
I love your description of Shaun White, the flying tomato! Though I didn’t see him during the games, I will watch for him now. Yes, the skate-dancers were super too.
And I totally agree about the final women’s skate-off. It was mesmerizing and so inspiring to see each woman in the final group perform her personal best.
Thanks for your snow-star thoughts–
Elizabeth