She had the bigger combinations, the triple lutz-triple toe loop, than Asada did, so she obviously scored more points. She skated with more personality, drew you in with her performance. And all of her elements were terrific, spins and spirals and footwork. That’s why she’s the world champion.

Her score is very high for the others that follow, but thing with skating nowadays is that you really aren’t trying to “beat” another skater. You’re just trying to do your elements as best you can, and then it’s up to the technical specialist to decide on the level and the judges can mark you up or down for execution. Then there are the component scores, where they can elevate a skater or keep them where they think they need to be. It’s a lot more subjective. Of course, Kim had both scores. (http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/live-blog-follow-the-womens-short-program/)