The race toward the female figure skating ‘Post Yuna Kim’, which had been stagnant for a while, is in an atmosphere that is reviving.
Even until the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, it was an atmosphere that was narrowed down to a two-way match between Yoo Young (19, Suri High School) and Kim Ye-rim (20, Dankook University). However, as Hae-in Lee (18, Sehwa Girls’ High School) performed well at the Four Continents Championships and jumped into the race, the competition intensified.
Lee Hae-in won the championship with a total score of 210.84 in the women’s singles competition that ended on the 11th at the Broadmoor World Arena in Springs, Colorado, USA.
It is the first time in 14 years that a Korean female singles player has won the Four Continents Championship since 2009, when “Figure Skating Queen” Kim Yu-na (retired) won. Lee Hae-in won her first gold medal at an International Skating Union (ISU) major senior event.
This is not the first time Lee Hae-in has succeeded Kim Yuna. In September 2019, when she was only 14 years old, she took her consecutive victories in the 3rd and 6th ISU Junior Grand Prix to advance to the Grand Prix Final.
At the time, it was the first time in 14 years that a Korean female athlete won two consecutive Junior Grand Prix events after Kim Yuna in 2005.
However, she was frustrated ahead of ‘the stage of her dreams’, the Olympics. She placed only 6th in the first round of the national team selection and did not make up for it in the second round. At the time, Lee Hae-in swallowed regret, saying, “This is not the end, it is the beginning, so she will work hard so that she can compete in the next Olympics.”
Lee Hae-in, who is her fiercest self-respect, was the runner-up at the 2022 Her Four Continents Championships with her personal best score (213.52 points), and entered the top 10 at the World Championships in March last year, ranking 7th. And she has found her confidence again as she stands on top of her at this Four Continents Championships. 카지노
Lee Hae-in, who returned home on the 14th, said, “I heard that she was full of energy from beginning to end. She said that if Yuna and her sister would adjust her dynamics, she would improve the program,” she said, expressing her appreciation for Yuna Kim.
With Lee Hae-in joining in, Korean figure skating women’s singles have begun to regain their vigor. Expectations are high for Lee Hae-in and Kim Ye-rim’s performance at the World Championships held in Saitama, Japan in March.
Kim Ye-rim also entered the finals, and
the ‘successor race’, which had been stopped for a while, was lively.
Competition in good faith at the World Championships in March
Kim Ye-rim, who confirmed her skills on the world stage by placing 9th in the Beijing Olympics, continues to play an active role. In November of last year she won her first gold medal at her fifth event of the Grand Prix, earning her a spot in the final competition, ‘War of the Kings’. She also won a silver medal at the Four Continents Championships, following Lee Hae-in.
Kim Ye-rim said, “Since she has a little bit of regret this time, she has a lot of thoughts that she wants to do well in the next competition. She will do her best to prepare for the rest of the year,” she said.
Yoo-Young, who has been hampered by a recent injury, won’t be able to compete in the world championships, but as she has the ‘special move’ triple axel, she is well enough to enter the ‘post-Kim Yuna’ competition if she finds her pace.