South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na has finished first in the short program event at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Wednesday (KST) with a world record score of 78.50.

Kim, the 23rd skater to compete at the Pacific Coliseum, followed up a stunning 73.78 performance by Japanese rival Mao Asada with a captivating display of her own to snag first place.

Kim’s score has topped the personal best she set in the 2009-2010 Grand Prix of Figure Skating by 2.22 points.

Kim finished with a program component score of 33.80 and a technical score of 44.70.

Kim, considered to be the gold-medal favorite going into the Olympics, is now in a solid position to take top Olympic honors as she heads into the free skating event on Friday (KST).

South Korean compatriot Kwak Min-jung finished the short program with a score of 53.16, good for 16th place overall.