South Korean men’s figure skating hopeful Lim Joo-heon (17, Surigyo) took first place in the short program at the International Ice Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix in his first competition.
Lim earned a combined score of 75.38 points, including 39.82 technical elements (TES) and 35.56 artistic elements (PCS), in the men’s single short program at the fourth ISU Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix of the 2023-2024 season on Thursday in Osaka, Japan.
Lim topped the short program with a score of 74.04, ahead of second-place Shunsuke Nakamura (JPN).
Last year, Lim missed his ISU Junior Grand Prix debut due to injury. This year, he returned to the ISU Junior Grand Prix stage in earnest and got off to a great start, landing a clean triple axel in his first run.
At the National Championships in January, Lim finished ninth in the men’s singles. However, he finished third at the Junior Grand Prix Qualifier in July, earning him a spot in the Junior Grand Prix this season. At the Osaka Junior Grand Prix, his fourth event of the season, he made a few mistakes but finished the match in fine form and made his presence felt on the international stage.
Lim executed his first task, the triple axel, cleanly. He earned a 1.83 GOE for this skill. The next jump, a triple flip + triple toe loop combination, was ruled an Attention (with a !) on the first jump (around an incorrect use of the skate edge). However, she still received a performance score of 0.15.
On the second half of the jump, the triple lutz, which is worth 10% extra points, the landing was wobbly and they lost 1.26 points.
In the non-jumping elements, the change foot sit spin, flying sit spin, and change foot combination spin all earned a level 4, the highest possible rating. In the step sequence, she earned a level 3.
His teammate Lee Jae-geun (15, Surigyo) finished seventh with a score of 65.76.
Lim will try to win his first medal in the free skate on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the ice dance rhythmic dance team of Kim Ji-nee and Lee In-moo (Korea Ice and Snow Sports Federation) finished ninth with 48.55 points. They had scored a personal best of 56.3 points in the rhythmic dance at the first Junior Grand Prix last month.
However, they faltered in this competition and scored nearly 10 points below their personal best.
After winning the bronze medal in the first round, Kim Ji-nee and Inamu finished ninth in the rhythmic dance, making it difficult for them to qualify for the final.스포츠토토
The pair will look to turn things around in the free dance on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Han Hee-soo (15, Sunil Girls’ Middle School) and Hwang Jung-ryul (13, Sangmyung Middle School) will compete in the women’s single short program on Friday.