USA TODAY International Edition
North Koreans 15th in world but first in interest
GANGNEUNG, South Korea – The figure skaters who are likely to become the most scrutinized 15th-place finishers at the 2018 Winter Olympics had to share the pristine sheet of practice ice with no one Tuesday afternoon. It was theirs, and theirs alone, as a couple dozen members of the news media watched their every move.
Were it not for the red, blue and white PRK jackets Ryom Tae-ok, 19, and Kim Ju-sik, 25, were wearing, they would have been just another promising pair team trying to make a name for themselves on the grandest stage of their young careers. But because they are from North Korea — the only North Korean athletes who qualified to compete in the Pyeongchang Games — they have become a symbol of so much more.
They are a curiosity, certainly, even though they are hardly unknown, having finished 15th at the 2017 world figure skating championships last spring in Helsinki. They also just might be a crucial insurance policy for these Games, now joined by a few women’s hockey players among a handful of other North Koreans expected to compete here.
Would unpredictable North Korean leader Kim Jong-un dare try to disrupt the Olympics if several of his own are there participating?
Ryom and Kim are fluid, expressive skaters who finished third at the recent Four Continents championship behind two American pairs that will not be at the Olympics. Their short program music filled the underground practice rink as they went through their paces on the ice just three days before the opening ceremony. It might not have been what you would have expected from two North Koreans: an instrumental version of the Beatles’ A Day in the Life.
But these are two North Koreans who have not been shuttered within their nation’s borders. For two months last summer, Ryom and Kim lived in Montreal, training with Canadian pairs coach Bruno Marcotte and his star pupils, twotime world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford.
For this practice, Marcotte stood by the boards, flanked by the skaters’ North Korean coach and handlers, animatedly gesturing and giving advice.
One of the North Korean federation officials speaks English, so that’s how Marcotte passes along detailed advice. He is not their full-time coach. “I’m more of a consultant,” he said.
He believes the pair team has improved since qualifying for the Olympics last September in Germany. But their chances for a medal? “Ah, none. None,” Marcotte said. “No, they’re not here to win a medal. Let’s be honest. They’re ranked 15th in the world. The goal is for them to get a personal-best score. If they can improve their ranking from worlds last year, that’d be great. It’s a really strong field out there so I just want a personal-best score for them, to live their moment. … I just hope for them they have the skate of their life.”
He’ll take a 15th-place finish here. “If they come 15th, that’d be good. If they come top 12, I’ll be ecstatic.”
He’s talking sports because he doesn’t have much to say about the politics of the moment. Marcotte said it’s not part of his job to evaluate the importance of Ryom and Kim’s presence at the Games.
“It’s hard to say because we don’t talk about that,” he said. “To be honest, for me, it feels like any other team.”