Figure skating: Kim to retire after Winter Olympics

SEOUL - South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-Na said Monday she would retire from amateur competition after the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi.

The reigning Olympic champion made the announcement at a hastily scheduled press conference aimed at dampening rampant speculation about her career.

Kim 21, said she would try to become a member of the International Olympic Committee after her career is over.

Kim's future has been the subject of much speculation since she won the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. That victory came about a year after her first and only world crown.

She entered the 2010 world championships about a month after Vancouver but finished second. Kim sat out the entire 2010-11 season before entering the world championships in April 2011 and finishing runner-up again.

It was the last competitive event for Kim, who has only appeared in corporate ice shows inside and outside South Korea in the ensuing months.