Rising figure skating talent Lim Joo-heon (Surigyo, Korea) is in contention for a medal after a surprise first-place finish in his debut at an International Ice Skating Union (ISU) event.
Lim scored 75.38 points in the men’s single short program with a technical score of 39.82 and a performance score of 35.56 on Thursday in Osaka, Japan, at the fourth ISU Figure Junior Grand Prix 2023, finishing first out of 25 competitors.
She beat Japan’s Shunsuke Nakamura (74.04), who finished second, by 1.34 points.
Lim got off to a good start with a perfect rotation on his first performance task, a triple axel, earning a GOE of 1.83 points.
He then landed a triple flip-triple toe-loop combination jump that earned him a GOE of 0.15 despite an attitude (watch out for edges).
The change foot sit spin and flying sit spin earned a level 4, the highest level of difficulty.
In the first task of the second half, the triple lutz, which carries a 10% penalty, Lim had a wobbly landing and was deducted 1.26 points, but she handled the step sequence as a level 3.
His final task, a change foot combination spin, earned him the highest difficulty level of Level 4, adding 0.9 points to his GOE, and he finished his ISU debut on a high note.
His teammate Lee Jae-geun (Surigyo) finished seventh with a combined score of 65.76 points, including a TES of 33.72, a PCS of 33.04 and a deduction of 1.
Lee Jae-geun and Lim Joo-heon will compete in the men’s single freeskating event on Feb. 15, where they will look for a podium finish.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, ice dance hopefuls Kim Ji-nee and Lee In-moo (Gyeonggi Ice Sports Federation) finished ninth in the rhythmic dance, missing out on a spot in the Junior Grand Prix Final.
The pair earned a TES of 26.27, a PCS of 22.28, and a total of 48.55 points for ninth place.
Kim Ji-nee-Inamu’s score was nearly 10 points lower than her personal best in rhythmic dance (56.30) from the first round of the Junior Grand Prix in August.
After placing third in the first round, the duo had hoped to qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Beijing, China, in December, but their plans have been thrown into doubt.
Kim Ji-nee and Inamu will compete in the free dance on the 16th. 파워볼게임