The ‘future’ of Korean figure skating will be looking to win medals at the 2023-2024 International Ice Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix Final, which showcases the best prospects of the season. Women’s singles Shin Jia (Yeongdong), Kim Yoo-seong (Pyeongchon) and Kwon Min-sol (Mokdong) and men’s singles Kim Hyun-gyeom (Han AD) and Lim Joo-heon (Surigyo) will showcase their skills in the ‘King of Kings’ competition in Beijing, China, starting on Sunday. The men’s and women’s short programs will take place on the 7th, the women’s free skating on the 8th, and the men’s free skating on the 9th.The most anticipated skater is Xin Jia. She won both the second and fifth events of the Junior Grand Prix in September to easily qualify for the top-six final .Last year, she won the silver medal in the Junior Grand Prix Final and will be aiming for a second consecutive podium .If she succeeds, she will become the first Korean athlete since Kim Yeon-ah (2004-2005) to medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final in back-to-back seasons .Shin’s medal prospects are bright, as she has been performing exceptionally well lately with a light body.
She finished first in the first round of the 2024-2025 National Team Trials, which concluded on March 3, with a final total of 216.35 points, beating her competitors by a wide margin. Kwon Min-sol, who won bronze at last year’s Junior Grand Prix Final, will also be looking to become the first Korean to medal in back-to-back seasons since Kim Yeon-ah. Kwon is an up-and-coming skater who finished third at the second Junior Grand Prix and second at the sixth. The ‘Twin Rising Star’ Kim Yoo-sung is also expected to be in the mix, having earned a silver medal in the first Junior Grand Prix event and a silver in the fifth event with his highly technical triple axel. Kim Yoo-sung is the twin brother of Kim Yoo-jae (Pyeongchonjung), who finished fourth at last year’s Junior World Championships, and made his debut at an international major this year. Shin Jia, Kim Yoo-sung and Kwon Min-sol will be competing for medal colors with three Japanese athletes.
Mao Shimada is a Japanese figure god with a four-turn jump. She has excellent technique and stability. Also competing are triple axel specialist Ami Nakai and 13-year-old hopeful Lena Uezono. In the men’s singles, Lim Joo-heon and Kim Hyun-gyeom will attempt to win a Junior Grand Prix Final medal for the first time in seven years since Cha Jun-hwan (KU-2016, 3rd).The Canadian-born Lim has won gold and silver medals at two Junior Grand Prix events this year.Four-rotation jumper Kim Hyun-gyeom also punched his ticket to the Final with gold and silver medals in two events. Meanwhile, the Senior Grand Prix Final will be held during the same period and at the same venue, but no Korean athletes qualified. Cha Jun-hwan withdrew from the fifth edition of the Grand Prix after suffering an ankle injury, while women’s singles Kim Yerim (Dankook University) and Lee Hae-in (Sewha Girls’ High School) failed to medal in every Grand Prix event they competed in.The Grand Prix Final is a “king of the hill” event where only the top six best performers from the seven 온라인카지노 Junior Grand Prix events held in a season compete.