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Yuna Kim wants to be remembered as a skater

SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Yuna Kim knows what she wants as her legacy.

The 2010 Olympic figure skating champion and this year's silver medalist retired after the free skate at the Sochi Games.

"I want to be remembered as myself, as a figure skater, rather than a gold medalist at Vancouver or a silver medalist at Sochi," the 23-year-old Kim told a news conference Friday that was packed with Korean media.

Kim admitted several times during the games that she was not as obsessed about winning here as she was four years ago. That apparently made accepting silver easier for her, if not for her countrymen who questioned the judging that gave Russia's Adelinka Sotnikova the gold.

"Because I didn't come just to win a gold medal, I think I was just calm," Kim said.

As for the outcome, she added: "I expected it somewhat because of the atmosphere. When you have too high of an expectation, the disappointment is also big, so I just waited calmly."

"There have been times in other competitions as well when the score did not reflect my performance no matter how well I did, to the point of being strange," she said. "I imagine various scenarios before the competition: doing well, not receiving a good score, and coming in second place. Because I imagined a lot of things yesterday, I don't think it was that surprising."

Kim won the 2010 gold medal in record-setting fashion. She also won world titles in 2009 and 2013, setting her up both times as the Olympic favorite.

When she finished second to Sotnikova, she said she had no regrets.

"I didn't watch the performances of the other skaters, so I don't think it makes a difference whether or not I accept this," she said.

One rival she praised was Japanese skater Mao Asada, also a two-time world champion and the Vancouver Olympic silver medalist. Asada messed up the short program and, even with a superb free skate, moved up only to sixth Thursday.

"We've been compared and have competed for so long, and it seems like there won't be that competition between us again," Kim said. "I think I'll remember her the most. I don't think there are many skaters like us two, who were constantly being compared."