Satvika Ananth
Staff Writer

The Ladies’ Figure skating long program reminded the world that the story of the Olympics is perseverance. No one illustrated this better than the last group of skaters.

The medalists, who were all in this last group, all have stories that evoke emotions among people across cultures.

Bronze medalist, 24-year old Joannie Rochette, suffered an immense loss just days before her performance in the short program when her mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Her skating did not falter, though. Instead, she persevered, and with the support of an entire nation to hold her up, was able to clinch the silver medal with a passionate performance.

19-year old silver medalist Mao Asada from Japan was under immense pressure from her country and her family to succeed in this competition, and was able to perform at the highest level to do just that. She also faced the daunting task of taking the ice after  gold medalist Kim Yu-Na, who scored the highest ever on her free skate.

Yu-Na, a 19-year old from North Korea, is the most popular celebrity in her country. Even Korean students in America are immense fans of her skating. She scored a 150.06 on her free skate, breaking her personal record by a landslide. The young skater earned the support of even the Canadians in the stands with her humility and grace as she accepted her medal.