South Korean figure skater Kim Chae-yeon skates during an opening training session at Taeneung Indoor Skating Rink in Seoul, in this file photo from March 11, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 25 (Korea Bizwire) — In the midst of the best stretch of her career, South Korean teen figure skater Kim Chae-yeon will pursue her second straight podium finish at the world championships this week in the United States.
Kim will be one of three South Koreans competing in the women’s singles at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden in Boston. Their short program begins at 11:05 a.m. Wednesday (local time), or 12:05 a.m. Thursday (Korean time).
Their free skate starts at 6 p.m. Friday in Boston, or 7 a.m. Saturday (Korean time).
The 18-year-old Kim is the reigning world bronze medalist. This year, she captured gold medals at both the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, and at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul in February. At the former, Kim established a new personal best in the short program (71.88), the free skate (147.56) and the total score (219.44), though they weren’t officially recognized because they came at a non-ISU event.
Only days later at the Four Continents, Kim did set an official personal best in all three categories, with 74.02 points in the short program, 148.36 points in the free skate and 222.38 points in the overall score.
In Boston, Kim will be up against the three-time defending champion from Japan, Kaori Sakamoto. Kim topped Sakamoto for the Asian Games gold medal, with the Japanese star stumbling her way to silver.
Kim will try to become the first South Korean figure skater since Kim Yu-na to reach the podium at consecutive world championships. Kim Yu-na won a medal at every world championship from 2007 to 2011.
In the men’s singles, Cha Jun-hwan will chase his second career world championships medal after winning silver in 2023.
The men’s short program is set for an 11:10 a.m. Thursday start in Boston, or 12:10 a.m. Friday (Korean time). Their free skate is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Saturday (local time), or 7 a.m. Sunday (South Korean time).
Defending champion Ilia Malinin, long known for his technical prowess, will have the backing of the partisan American crowd, while Yuma Kagiyama of Japan will try to win his first world title after taking home silver medals in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Cha held off Kagiyama for the Asian Winter Games gold in February before grabbing silver at the Four Continents.
Cha doesn’t attempt as many quadruple jumps as Malinin or Kagiyama, but Cha can bank on his artistry and overall presentation. His rivals’ high-risk approach can backfire on them, as attested by Kagiyama’s mistake-laden free skate that opened the door for Cha to win the gold at the Asian Winter Games with a clean program.
Quota places for next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy will be at stake in Boston.
For countries with three skaters in action, rankings by the top two will determine the number of their quota places.
South Korea will have Kim Chae-yeon, Lee Hae-in and Yun Ah-sun in Boston. If the total placements by the top two of those three skaters are 13 or fewer, then South Korea will have three skaters at the Olympics. If the number is between 14 and 28, then South Korea will only be able to send two skaters to the Olympics.
For the men, only Cha and Kim Hyun-gyeom will compete at the worlds. In this case, the total placements by these two must be equal to or fewer than 13 for South Korea to earn three spots at the Olympics. If their total is between 14 and 28, the country will have two entries at the Olympics.
(Yonhap)
