This South Korean figure skater started skating when she was five, and never finished off the podium until she retired!

Kim Yuna is a retired South Korean figure skater. She was born on 5 September 1990 and started skating when she was five years old. Her coach at the time, Jong-Hyeon Ryu, was so certain that she would become a world-class figure skate, that he strongly advised Yuna’s mother to let her continue skating.

Kim won her first gold medal in figure skating in 2002 at the Triglav Trophy in Slovenia. Since then this remarkable athlete has never finished off the podium! When she was 12 she became the youngest skater ever to win the senior title at the South Korean championships. In 2004-2005 she won 5 medals and landed her first triple-triple jump at the 2005 World Junior Championships, earning 158.93 points and the silver medal.

Kim made her senior international debut at 2006 Skate Canada where she won a bronze medal. At the 2007 World Championships she set the highest short program score ever under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record with 71.95 points.

In total, Kim Yuna has been on the podium 53 times in her career! In February 2014 Yuna competed at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, where she won an Olympic silver medal. She also announced that the Olympics would mark the end of her competitive skating career.

(Source)