Milan: Shin Ji-a finished fourth in the women's short program of the team event in figure skating at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in northern Italy on Friday. Shin scored 68.80 points, placing her just off the top three among 10 skaters at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. The 17-year-old achieved 37.93 points in the technical element score, which evaluates jumps, spins, and step sequences, and an additional 30.87 points in the program component score, which considers the overall artistry and presentation of the program.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Shin's best score of the season is 74.47 points, recorded at the Nebelhorn Trophy in September 2025. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, a 2022 Olympic bronze medalist with three consecutive world titles from 2022 to 2024, led the short program with 78.88 points. Alysa Lu of the United States, the 2025 world champion, secured second place with 74.90 points, followed by Italy's Lara Naki Gutmann with 71.62 points.

The competition commenced with ice dance in the rhythm dance earlier on Friday, where South Korea's Hannah Lim and Quan Ye finished in seventh place with 70.55 points. The team event includes 10 teams that have qualified skaters in at least three of the four disciplines: ice dance, pairs, and the women's and men's singles. Points are awarded based on ranking positions, with first place earning 10 points, second place nine points, and so forth.

Shin's performance earned her seven points, while Lim and Quan contributed four points. South Korea does not have a team in the pairs discipline and will not receive points there, effectively ruling them out of medal contention. Only the top five teams after all the short program segments and rhythm dance will advance to the free skate and free dance portions. Currently, South Korea is in seventh place, trailing fifth-place Canada by eight points, with the U.S. leading with 25 points.

During her performance, skating to "Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor" by Frederic Chopin, Shin executed a clean triple lutz-triple toe loop combination. She also successfully landed her double axel but appeared slightly unsteady on the landing of a triple flip.

The team event will continue Saturday with the men's singles short program and the free dance in ice dance, concluding Sunday with the free skates in the men's and women's singles and the pairs.