In yet another unexpected turn of events this weekend, South Korean rising star Jun-Hwan Cha came from behind at the national championships to win the event — and the Olympic race — and captured the sole men’s berth on his nation’s Olympic team.
Cha, 16, won the men’s singles at the Korea Figure Skating Championships, which doubled as the third and final leg of the Olympic trials with an overall score of 252.65 points. He earned 168.60 points for the free skate, adding to 84.05 points from Saturday’s short program.
With that, Cha won the qualification stage with 684.23 points, nipping Lee June-hyoung by 2.13 points. Lee had won the first two qualification events and held a 20.29-point lead over Cha heading into Sunday’s free skate. Read Full Story Here
Choi Da-bin, 17, and Kim Ha-nul, 15, will represent the host country next month in one of the Winter Games’ marquee events, after finishing one-two in the Olympic trials that wrapped up at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul on Sunday.
At the Korea Figure Skating Championships, the third and final leg of qualifying events, Choi finished with 190.12 points, for a total of 540.28. Kim scored 176.92 points over the weekend to reach 510.27 overall in the qualifying stage and grab the last spot available for South Korea in the ladies’ singles. Read Full Story Here
2018 Olympic Winter Games
Men: Jun Hwan Cha
Ladies: Dabin Choi, Hanul Kim
Pairs: Kyueun Kim and Alex Kangchan Kam
Ice Dance: Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin
2018 Four Continents Championships
Men: Jun-Hwan Cha, June Hyoung Lee, Sihyeong Lee
Ladies: Dabin Choi, Hanul Kim, So-youn Park
Pairs: Kyueun Kim and Alex Kangchan Kam
Ice Dance: Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin
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2018 FOUR CONTINENTS CHAMPIONSHIPS