North Korea’s figure skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd who threw them toys and flowers at the Four Continents championships in Taipei Wednesday, ahead of their much anticipated Olympic bid.
Fans clapped and shouted at the end of their performance of Jeff Beck’s rendition of The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”, with one spectator flying a South Korean flag.
Although their routine ranked them first initially in the pairs short programme and gave them a personal record score of 65.25 points, they were eventually just edged out of the top three and ended fourth.
US duo Ashley Cain and Timothy Leduc placed first with 66.76 points, Australians Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya and Harley Windsor took second with 66.45 points and Tarah Kayne and Danny O’Shea, also of the US, came third with 65.74 points.
Interest in the pair has skyrocketed since North Korea made a surprise announcement earlier this month that it was sending a team to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, even though the two sides are still technically at war.
The announcement eased months of international tension over the North’s banned missile and nuclear programmes.
Dressed in silver and black outfits, Ryom caught a Pikachu toy thrown from the crowd after the performance, with Kim catching a flower.
Their coach stood to applaud them at the rink gate after the performance and hugged them as they came off the ice.
The pair also skated to The Beatles track when they secured their Olympic place last September at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany.
Speaking after the performance, Ryom, 18, said they were “not satisfied”, according to the International Skating Union website. Kim, 25, said they must hold on to their leads better.
“All competitions are important to us, so we will keep working hard, not only for the Olympics but also for winning in upcoming competitions,” Ryom said.
Ryom and Kim are among North Korea’s top athletes and its only competitors to have officially qualified for a place at the February 9-25 Games.
While the majority of their compatriots are cloistered from the outside world, the pair have travelled globally to compete.
South Korean skater Kim Kyueun, who had to drop out from the pairs competition after her partner Alex Kam was injured, told AFP the pair were “very friendly and kind and a little bit shy”.
In the separate ice dance competition earlier Wednesday, US duo Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker led after the short programme with 69.08 points, followed by Japan’s Kana Muramoto and Chris Reed on 65.27 points, with Canadians Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus on 65.11 points.
