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Shin Ji-a (17, Sehwa Girls' High School) made a spectacular leap on the ice, setting her sights firmly on a Winter Olympic debut.
At the 2025 National Men's and Women's Figure Skating President's Cup Ranking Competition, held at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, Shin Ji-a dominated the Women's Singles Free Skating event on the 30th. She scored 144.14 points (Technical Element Score 75.19 points + Program Component Score 68.95 points), combining with her Short Program score of 72.06 points for a total of 216.20 points, claiming the first-place finish. Kim Yun-jae (Gunpo Suri High School), who had led after the Short Program, finished second with 204.99 points. Kim Chae-yeon (Gyeonggi Provincial Ice Skating Federation) secured third place with 201.78 points.
This competition served as the first stage of the national team selection process for the 2026 Milano-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The second and final selection stage will be the National Men's and Women's Figure Skating Championships, scheduled for January 3-6 of next year. The Korea Skating Union (KSU) will finalize the athletes for the Olympic Men's and Women's Singles events by aggregating the scores from both the first and second selection competitions.
Securing Olympic Quotas and the Road Ahead
South Korea has secured two Olympic quota spots in both the Men's and Women's Singles disciplines. For Women's Singles, the two spots were secured by Lee Hae-in (Korea University) and Kim Chae-yeon, who both finished within the top ten at the ISU World Championships last March. In Men's Singles, Cha Jun-hwan (Seoul City Hall) initially secured 1+1 spots with his 7th-place finish at the World Championships, and Kim Hyun-gyeom (Korea University) finalized the two-spot quota by finishing 5th at the Olympic additional qualifying competition in September.
Shin Ji-a, born in March 2008, is eligible for Olympic figure skating participation (qualified skaters must be born before July 1, 2008). After winning four consecutive silver medals at the ISU Junior World Championships from 2022 to 2025, she made her senior debut this season. Notably, her junior rival, Mao Shimada of Japan, born in October 2008, is ineligible to compete in the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics due to the age restriction.
The results from this ranking competition have set the stage for a tense battle in the Women's Singles category at the upcoming National Championships. Despite struggling with her condition throughout the season, Kim Chae-yeon delivered a much-needed clean performance. Lee Hae-in, who finished fifth with 195.80 points, will be aiming for a significant comeback in the second selection event. Since second-place Kim Yun-jae and fourth-place Yun Seo-jin (201.65 points, Hankwang High School) are both subject to the Olympic age restriction, the final Olympic spots are expected to be a tight three-way contest among Shin Ji-a, Kim Chae-yeon, and Lee Hae-in.
Men's Singles Sees a Surprise Leader
In the Men's Singles event, Cha Jun-hwan, who is vying for his third consecutive Winter Olympics appearance (after PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022), scored 172.81 points in the Free Skating (Technical Element Score 84.93 points + Program Component Score 87.88 points). Combined with his Short Program score of 82.91 points, he totaled 255.72 points, placing him second behind Seo Min-kyu (Kyungshin High School) who accumulated 262.84 points. Choi Ha-bin (16, Hankwang High School), the Short Program leader, slipped to third place with 250.37 points after making jump errors. Kim Hyun-gyeom finished fourth with 231.51 points.
Similar to the women's event, the two top finishers, Seo Min-kyu (born October 2008) and Choi Ha-bin (born November 2009), are not eligible to compete in the Olympics due to the age criteria. This situation leaves Cha Jun-hwan in a strong position, with the second Olympic spot likely contested between him and the eligible competitors who performed well in this stage, leading into the decisive National Championships.
Shin Ji-a's successful outing in the first Olympic selection competition signals a formidable challenge to the current top-ranked seniors and establishes her as a frontrunner to make her highly anticipated Olympic debut. All eyes will now turn to the National Championships in January, which will ultimately determine the two athletes who will represent South Korea at the 2026 Winter Games.
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