(C) Go Fug Yourself
SEOUL – South Korean figure skating icon Cha Jun-hwan (Seoul City Hall) has officially secured his spot for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, marking his third consecutive appearance on the world’s grandest sporting stage.
On January 4, during the 80th Korea Figure Skating Championships held at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul, Cha delivered a commanding performance in the men’s senior free skate. He earned a technical element score (TES) of 88.03 and a program components score (PCS) of 92.31, totaling 180.34 points for the segment. Combined with his short program score of 97.50 from the previous day, Cha finished with a decisive overall total of 277.84 points, placing first among ten competitors.
A Comeback Victory
This competition served as the second and final round of the national qualifiers for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Cha entered the event seeking redemption after a second-place finish in the first qualifying round last November. During that session, a series of jumping errors left him with 255.72 points, trailing behind rising star Seo Min-kyu. However, with a seasoned display of artistry and technical precision in the second round, Cha successfully overturned the rankings to reclaim his position at the top of South Korean men’s figure skating.
Having finished 15th at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and 5th at the 2022 Beijing Games—the highest-ever finish for a Korean male skater—Cha is now set to challenge for a podium finish in Milan.
The Road to Milan: Age Eligibility and Final Selections
The battle for the silver and bronze medals was intense. Seo Min-kyu (Kyungshin High School) executed a clean free skate to earn 177.77 points, finishing second overall with a total of 269.31. Choi Ha-bin (Han-gwang High School) followed in third place with 258.18 points.
Despite their podium finishes, neither Seo nor Choi will be heading to the Olympics. Under the International Skating Union (ISU) regulations for the 2026 Winter Games, athletes must be born before July 2008 to compete. As Seo was born in October 2008 and Choi in November 2009, they do not meet the age requirement.
Consequently, the final Olympic ticket was awarded to Kim Hyun-kyum (Korea University), who finished fourth with a total of 235.74 points. Kim, who had previously secured an additional Olympic quota for South Korea by placing second in the qualifying event last September, earned the right to utilize that quota himself.
With the national qualifiers concluded, the Korea Skating Union will now pivot its focus toward supporting Cha and Kim as they prepare to represent the nation in Italy next month.
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