Cha Jun-hwan and Lee Hae-in, who won the silver medal together at the world championships for the first time in history, returned in gold.
The ‘Kim Yuna Kids’, who have grown into world-class athletes, are writing a new history of Korean figure skating.
This is reporter Hong Seok-jun.
[Reporter]
Cha Jun-hwan and Lee Hae-in raise their silver medals with bright smiles.
Cha Jun-hwan’s popularity was so hot that it was mistaken that a fan meeting was held.
<Sound sound> “(Hello. Hello~) Wow!”
Cha Jun-hwan finished the season with a bright appearance, becoming the first Korean male athlete to rise to the podium at the World Championships스포츠토토, despite replacing his skate blades right before the competition.
After placing 5th at the Beijing Winter Olympics last year, he continued to grow by improving the perfection of his 4th round jump.
Cha Jun-hwan is now looking at a medal for the Milan Winter Olympics, which will be held in 2026.
<Cha Jun-hwan / Figure Skating World Championship Men’s Single Silver> “This World Championship is another motivation for me… It is also the first cycle of the Milan Olympics (2026), and I think I finished the first season very satisfactorily.”
‘Yuna Kids’ Haein Hae-in, who had a hard time losing the right to participate in the Beijing Olympics.
As a Korean female athlete, she won a medal in the event 10 years after Yuna Kim, standing tall as a next-generation runner in female figure skating.
Congratulated by her ‘eternal role model’ Yuna Kim, Lee Hae-in completely regained her confidence.
<Lee Hae-in / Figure Skating World Championship Women’s Singles> “I used to have doubts about myself, but through this competition, I knew I could do better… I think it’s worthwhile to not give up and run to the end because it didn’t go well at the beginning of the season.”
Korean figure skating has reached a new heyday with the flight of ‘Yuna Kids’ who spread their wings wide.