Download
South Korea's Cha warms up for Olympics with Four Continents gold
CGTN

Translating...

Content is automatically generated by Microsoft Azure Translator Text API. CGTN is not responsible for any of the translations.

South Korean champion Cha Jun-hwan warmed up for the Beijing Winter Olympics in two weeks' time with his first gold at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia on Sunday.

The 20-year-old led all the way to take a first men's medal in the competition for South Korea ahead of Japanese pair Kazuki Tomono and Kao Miura after the free skate on the final day of competition.

Cha overcame a fall on his opening quadruple jump to Puccini's "Turdandot" but picked himself up and completed his routine which included a quadruple Salchow and six triple jumps.

The South Korean scored his season's best of 174.26 points for the free skate and 273.22 points overall, with Tomono collecting 268.99 and Miura 251.07.

"I'm really happy with how I fought through and gave my everything," said Cha, who trains in Toronto with Canadian two-time Olympic medalist Brian Orser.

Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea during men's free skating at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, January 23, 2022. /CFP

Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea during men's free skating at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, January 23, 2022. /CFP

"Today's performance will be a great step for the Olympics and the rest of the season.

"When I came to this competition I was thinking this will be helpful for the Olympics and the season, not about medaling." 

Tomono, 23, a bronze medalist in the Grand Prix Rostelecom Cup, missed his second quad jump to the music from "La La Land", but nevertheless set a new personal best of 171.89 for the free skating. 

Sixteen-year-old Miura pushed through despite a pulled leg muscle to also achieve a new personal best score with 162.70 points for his flamenco routine to music by Spanish guitar maestro Vicente Amigo.

Kazuki Tomono of Japan performs in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, January 23, 2022. /CFP

Kazuki Tomono of Japan performs in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, January 23, 2022. /CFP

Most of the top skaters from Asia and North America skipped the competition before the Winter Olympics in Beijing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Japan's Mai Mihara won the women's title on Saturday with the United States winning both pairs by Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov, and ice dancing by Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, respectively.

Source(s): AFP
TOP NEWS
Xi Jinping urges healthy, high-quality development of private sector
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Politics

05:18, 17-Feb-2025

Munich Security Conference ends amid strained transatlantic relations
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Politics

03:34, 17-Feb-2025

U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine crisis set to begin in Saudi Arabia
{"type":2,"value":"CGTN","commentator":[],"valueShow":true,"commentatorShow":false}

Politics

03:02, 17-Feb-2025

Search Trends