Cha Jun-hwan, 'fighting spirit from injury', 'signal of revival' at the Four Continents Championships

She suffered from an ankle injury all season. “There were a few mistakes, but I did my best and I am satisfied. It will be a great help in preparing for the World Championships.” In the women’s figure skating singles, Kim Chae-yeon won silver.

Cha Jun-hwan is performing in the men's single free skating at the 2024 International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating Four Continents Championships held on the 3rd in Shanghai, China. The small photo shows him smiling while holding the bronze medal from the competition in his hand. 

Unlike other superheroes, Batman does not have super powers. When Superman fights a villain, he worries that if he uses too much force, his opponent will die, but Batman says that if he doesn't fight as hard as he can, he might end up losing his life himself. ‘Figure skating prince’ Cha Jun-hwan (23), who suffered from an ankle injury all season, also did not have the superpower to get rid of the injury. However, he was able to signal a revival by doing his best to match the theme song of the movie 'The Batman', which was the background music for free skating.

Cha Jun-hwan received this season's highest score of 177.65 points in the men's single free skating at the 2024 International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating Four Continents Championships held on the 3rd in Shanghai, China. Cha Jun-hwan, who also set the season's best record in the short program (95.30 points) and total score (272.95 points), took the bronze medal following Yuma Kagiyama (21, Japan, 307.58 points) and Shun Sato (20, Japan, 274.59 points). .

Cha Jun-hwan, who stood on the podium at a major international competition for the first time this season, said, “For me, this competition is like the beginning. “It was a good start,” he said. “There were a few mistakes, but I’m satisfied because I did my best. “This competition will be a great help in preparing for the World Championships (held from the 18th to 20th of next month),” he said.

Excluding Europe, athletes from the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania participate in the Four Continents Championships. Cha Jun-hwan became the first Korean male singles player to win this competition two years ago. And at last year's World Championships, he became the first Korean male athlete to win a medal (silver). Afterwards, ahead of the opening of this season, they began their challenge to 'go higher' by placing one more quadruple (4 rotations) jump, compared to one in the short and two in the free last season.

However, the plan had to be modified as a problem arose with the nerve tissue in the right ankle. Cha Jun-hwan finished in 9th place at the 2nd ISU Grand Prix competition in October last year and withdrew from the 5th competition in November. Even a week before the President's Cup ranking competition held in December of last year, which also served as the first round of selection for the national team for next season, the pain was so severe that I could not stay on the ice with my skates on for even 10 minutes.

Cha Jun-hwan was able to resume his old training program only after completing the national men's and women's all-around championships last month. Cha Jun-hwan said, “It’s only been two or three weeks since I started training properly. I need more time to prepare for the World Championships. He said, “I haven’t trained enough for my desires yet,” and added, “From now on, I will try to attempt quadruple jumps twice in the short run.”

Kim Chae-yeon (left) won the silver medal in the women's singles at the 2024 International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating Four Continents Championships.

In the women's singles competition, Kim Chae-yeon (18, Surigo High School) won the silver medal with a total score of 204.68 points, following Chiba Monet (19, Japan, 214.98 points). This is the first time Kim Chae-yeon has won a medal at her Four Continents Championships. Above Seoyoung (19, Surigo High School) received a total score of 193.57 points, her personal best, and ranked 5th. ‘Defending champion’ Lee Hae-in (19, Sehwa Girls’ High School) finished the competition in 11th place with a total score of 169.38 points. 고스톱