South Korean figure skater Lee Hae-in performs her free skate program during the first leg of the national team trials at Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Rink in Uijeongbu, some 20 kilometers north of Seoul, on Dec. 1, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The 2023 silver medalist Lee Hae-in has finished seventh in the women’s short program at the figure skating world championships in the United States.
Lee scored her season-best 67.79 points at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday (local time).
The free skate is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Friday in Boston, or 7 a.m. Saturday (Korean time).
Another South Korean, the 2024 bronze medalist Kim Chae-yeon, scored 65.67 points to rank 11th. A third South Korean at the event, Yun Ah-sun, finished 31st with 41.08 points and did not qualify for the free skate, reserved for the top 24 skaters in the short program.
Alysa Liu of the United States led the way with 74.58 points, followed by Mone Chiba of Japan at 73.44 points. Another American skater, Isabeau Levito, ranked third with 73.33 points.
Performing to “Ave Maria,” Lee opened her short program with a clean triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, followed by a double axel. Lee, however, lost points for not having a clear edge on her triple flip.
Kim, the gold medalist at both the Asian Winter Games and the Four Continents championships in February, posted her lowest short program score of the season. After executing a clean double axel to start her program, Kim stumbled trying to land her triple toe loop as part of her combination.
Kim is trying to become only the second South Korean figure skater to win a medal at consecutive world championships, joining two-time champion Kim Yu-na.
Quota places for next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy are at stake for South Korea.
If the final total ranking placements by Lee and Kim are equal to or under 13, then South Korea will be able to send three skaters to the Olympics. If the number is between 14 and 28, then South Korea will have two skaters at the Olympics.
(Yonhap)
