Seoul: Figure skater Cha Jun-hwan will compete at his third consecutive Winter Olympics next month in Italy. Cha claimed the men's singles title at the 80th National Figure Skating Championships held at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul, achieving a total score of 277.84. His performance consisted of 97.5 points in the short program on Saturday and 180.34 points in the free skate on Sunday. This national championship also served as the second phase of the Olympic trials.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Skating Union (KSU) selected its Olympic-bound skaters based on combined results from two competitions, with the KSU President's Cup in November being the first Olympic qualifying event. Cha finished second in the November event with 255.72 points, culminating in a combined total of 533.56 points from both events. He joins Jung Sung-il as the second South Korean figure skater to participate in three consecutive Winter Olympics, following Jung's appearances in 1988, 1992, and 1994.
Cha, who debuted at the Olympics in 2018 during the PyeongChang Winter Games, placed 15th, marking the highest Olympic placement by a South Korean male figure skater at the time. He surpassed his own record at the Beijing Winter Games four years later by finishing fifth. Now 24, Cha will head to Italy after overcoming a challenging season marked by ankle issues and difficulties adjusting to new skating boots. Despite these hurdles, he managed to secure his Olympic berth.
Cha revealed that he experimented with numerous pairs of skates over the past three months, expressing relief at finding a suitable pair. "I went through one pair a week during that time, but nothing really fit," he said. "But I am kind of used to the pair I wore today. If possible, I will stick with this at the Olympics. I am happy to be returning to the Olympics after all the skate problems I've had." These challenges led Cha to forgo difficult quadruple jumps during his Olympic qualifiers, opting for a more cautious approach. He aims to regain his ability to execute multiple quadruple jumps in future competitions.
Joining Cha in Milan will be 19-year-old Kim Hyun-gyeom, who amassed 235.74 points over the weekend at Mokdong and a total of 467.25 points after the two Olympic qualifiers. Kim, the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics champion, will make his senior Olympic debut. "Even though it will be my first Olympics, I've had a lot of international experience over the years," Kim stated. "So I will try to stay relaxed and put on a good performance. My primary goal is to qualify for the free skate."
The Olympic figure skating competition restricts participation to skaters who were at least 17 years old by July 1, 2025. As a result, Seo Min-kyu, who turned 17 in October and finished second overall with 532.15 points, will not compete in the Olympics.
In the women's singles category, Shin Ji-a and Lee Hae-in will make their Olympic debuts. Shin secured the national title with a total of 219.89 points, while Lee, the 2023 world silver medalist, earned a combined score of 391.80 points from her two competitions. Despite being ineligible due to her age, Kim Yu-seong achieved the second-highest score at the nationals with 212.83 points.
The ice dance team of Hannah Lim and Quan Ye will represent South Korea in Milan. Lim, who holds dual citizenship, and Quan, who acquired South Korean citizenship in December 2024, will make their Olympic debut together. "I am happy to have realized my childhood dream," Lim said. "We will work on some technical elements before the Olympics so that we can have our best performance. Since this will be our first Olympics, we want to enjoy the experience rather than worry about results."