Swiss-Korean skater guns for  2018 Olympic Games


For as long as she can remember, Claudia Mueller has been involved in athletic endeavors, whether it was skating or other sports.

Aged nine, she took a figure skating class and found it to be her most exciting pursuit yet. Now, at 14, the figure skater is one of Korea’s young hopefuls for the 2018 Winter Games.

“Please call me Jin-ju, it’s my Korean name,” Mueller said on a Friday afternoon at the national ice skating rink in Taeneung, northern Seoul.

She recently acquired Korean citizenship in order to join the national figure skating team. And earlier this month the Korea Skating Union selected 10 young skaters, including Mueller, for the national ice dancing teams for the 2018 Winter Games.

Although thanks to Kim Yu-na’s success at the Vancouver Olympics figure skating is now popular in this country, many are still unfamiliar with ice dancing.

And the Swiss-born junior skater admitted that switching from single figure skating to ice dancing was a big decision for her.

“I knew little about it before this summer,” Mueller said while warming-up for her afternoon training session.

She had her first taste of ice dancing while skating for Kim Yu-na’s Kiss and Cry, a television show hosted by the 2010 Olympic champion, in which celebrities and their professional partners skate together.

“My coach wasn’t very happy, but I thought it would be fun,” she said with a big smile.

Mueller admitted that at that time she was considering whether to continue skating. 

“I wasn’t very happy with my skating. My jumps had not improved, so I thought I had no future in figure skating. But I suddenly found this ice dancing very interesting,” she recalled.

Ice dancing differs from pair figure skating in the requirements for lifts and spins. And, especially since there are no compulsory jumps, Mueller thought she might have a better chance with it. Another distinction, she said, is the use of music.

“You have more options ice dancing. For instance, you can only skate to a melody in single figure skating. But in ice dancing, you can skate to music with lyrics and beat or rhythm. And I like that,” she said.

There are also difficulties, however, and one of the big tasks for her is creating harmony with her partner.

“If you want to get a good result, you need to work well in harmony with your partner. And I found it very difficult, I need to work on it,” she said.

Mueller, who has already garnered attention with her skating skills, said she wants to be a central figure in promoting ice dancing by winning an Olympic medal.

“I want to be like Kim Yu-na. The 2014 Sochi is too close, but I want to be at the 2018 Games,” she said.

Mueller, who was born in Switzerland, moved here when she was nine years old with her family ― her farther is a chef at the Grand Hilton in Seoul. She said the idea of applying for Korean citizenship was hers.

“I’m living here, and skating here. And I want to go to Olympics so I decided to be a Korean.”

Her parents were also happy with her decision.

“My parents have been always encouraging and very supportive. They want me to carry on with my skating career,” she said.

Mueller is now training with the national reserve team under the guidance of Russian instructor Sergei Astashev.

“After school, I have a 3-4 hour training session here ever weekday. Then, I do ballet and other physical training off the ice.”

Despite the rigorous schedule and almost no free-time, she said she is happy with her training.

“Well, I just love skating and I cannot remember a day when I have not wanted to go to the rink and skate,” Muller said with another big smile.

She said her first goal is to secure a spot in the Korean national team, then go to the Olympics.

“I want to represent Korea, and be the medal hope at Korea’s first Winter Olympics. That is my dream,” she added.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)