Lee Hae-in (figure skater)

Summary

Lee Hae-in (Korean: 이해인; born 16 April 2005) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2023 World silver medalist, the 2023 Four Continents champion, the 2022 Four Continents silver medalist, and a six-time South Korean national senior medalist (silver in 2020 and 2024 ; bronze in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023). At the junior level, she is the 2019 JGP Latvia champion and the 2019 JGP Croatia champion.

Lee Hae-in
Lee during a press conference at the 2023 World Championships.
Native name이해인 (Korean)
Born (2005-04-16) April 16, 2005 (age 19)
Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea
HometownSeoul
Height1.64 m (5 ft 4+12 in)
Figure skating career
Country South Korea
CoachChi Hyun-Jung
Began skating2013
Highest WS4 (2022-23)
Medal record
Women's figure skating
Representing  South Korea
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Saitama Women's singles
Four Continents Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Colorado Springs Women's singles
Silver medal – second place 2022 Tallinn Women's singles
World Team Trophy
Silver medal – second place 2023 Tokyo Team

In the 2022–23 skating season, Lee became the second South Korean woman to win a World Championship medal, as well as the second to be the Four Continents champion, and led South Korea to its first podium at the World Team Trophy.

Early life and education edit

Lee was born in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea.[1] She has a sister who is four years older than her.[2]

She practiced rhythmic gymnastics as a child before ultimately switching to figure skating.[2] Lee also attended Yangjin Elementary School and transferred from Bangbae Middle School to Hangang Middle School, she is currently attending Sehwa Girls' High School in Seoul.[3]

She has a pet cat named Jenny.[2]

Competitive career edit

Lee started skating in 2013 after watching an All That Skate show that was headlined by her figure skating idol, Yuna Kim. Lee also stated that her fascination with the sparkly costumes she would see skaters perform in also factored into her decision to become a figure skater.[4][2]

Junior career edit

2017–2018 season edit

In January 2018, at the 2018 senior South Korean Championships, Lee was 9th.

2018–2019 season: Junior international debut edit

 
Lee at the 2019 World Junior Championships

In the 2018–2019 season, she debuted in the ISU Junior Grand Prix series. In January 2019, at the 2019 senior South Korean Championships, she won the bronze medal (behind You Young and Lim Eun-soo). In March 2019, Lee (along with You Young) represented South Korea at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. She ranked fourteenth in the short, which put her in only the third-to-last warm-up group for the free skate. In the free, she placed seventh, rising to eighth overall.

2019–2020 season: Second international junior season edit

In July 2019, Lee Hae-in participated in the ISU Junior Grand Prix Korean qualification competition held in Taeneung, South Korea, where she came in first in the short, free, and overall program. Following the competition, she was selected and assigned to two ISU Junior Grand Prix events, JGP Latvia and JGP Croatia.[4] At JGP Latvia, she became the third Korean woman ever to become an ISU Junior Grand Prix champion, following Yuna Kim and Kim Hae-jin. She finished third in the short program behind Maiia Khromykh and Daria Usacheva of Russia and placed first in the free program to win the event with a combined total of 197.63 points, more than three points ahead of silver medalist Usacheva. She set personal best scores in the short, free, and overall programs. This event marked the first Junior Grand Prix event won by a Korean lady since Kim Hae-jin's victory at JGP Slovenia in 2012.[4] At JGP Croatia, she placed second in the short program with a new personal best, again behind Daria Usacheva. After a strong free skate in which she once again scored a new personal best, she placed first overall with a new personal best overall score of 203.40, more than six points ahead of Usacheva in second and 21 points ahead of Anna Frolova in third. This marked the first time that Lee scored above 200 points in a combined total. With two first-place finishes, Lee qualified for the 2019-20 Junior Grand Prix Final as the third-ranked skater, behind Kamila Valieva of Russia and Alysa Liu of the United States. She was the third Korean lady to ever qualify for the final after Kim Yuna and Kim Ye-lim.[4] Competing at the Junior Grand Prix Final held in Turin, Lee ranked sixth in the short program and rose to fourth in the free skate, finishing fifth overall.

At the 2020 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Lee earned a small silver medal for the short program behind Kamila Valieva, who took gold, and ahead of Daria Usacheva, who claimed bronze. Lee remarked that she had not expected to be in the top three after the short program, adding, "I'm surprised with the score; it's very high."[5] She also set a new season best for this short program. In the free skate, she fell on a downgraded triple flip attempt, resulting in a sixth-place finish in that segment and ranking fifth overall.[6]

Senior career edit

2020–2021 season: Senior international debut edit

With the pandemic greatly curtailing international opportunities for Korean skaters, Lee did not compete on either the Challenger or the Grand Prix circuit and instead made her competitive senior debut at the 2021 South Korean Championships. Placing second in the short program and fourth in the free skate, she won the bronze medal overall. She was assigned to one of Korea's two ladies' berths at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm due to silver medalist Yun Ah-sun being age-ineligible for international senior competition.[7] Lee placed tenth at the World Championships, which, combined with Kim Ye-lim's eleventh place, qualified two berths for Korean ladies at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.[8][9]

2021–2022 season: Four Continents silver edit

Lee made her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2021 Skate Canada International, where she placed seventh.[10] She was tenth at the 2021 Internationaux de France, her second event.[11]  At the 2022 South Korean Championships, the final qualification event for the South Korean Olympic team, Lee won the bronze medal, finishing 1.31 points behind silver medalist Kim Ye-lim. As a result, she was not named to one of Korea's two women's berths.[4] All three national medalists were assigned first to compete at the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, where Lee placed second in both segments of the competition to take the silver medal, finishing behind Japan's Mai Mihara but ahead of Kim and You Young, the two skaters assigned to the Olympic team. She said that she was "super happy" with the outcome, noting that the event took place in the same arena as the 2020 World Junior Championships, where she had missed the podium due to free skate errors.[12]

Lee was assigned to finish her season at the 2022 World Junior Championships in Sofia.[12] It was later announced that she would not be competing, instead intending to compete at the Triglav Trophy.[13] Following Kim's withdrawal from the 2022 World Championships due to a positive COVID test, Lee was named to replace her.[14] She finished in seventh place.[15]

2022–2023 season: World silver and Four Continents title edit

 
Lee at the 2022 Skate America

Lee began the season with two Challenger events, winning the bronze medal at the 2022 CS Nepela Memorial before finishing fourth at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy.[4] On the Grand Prix, she finished fourth at both of her Grand Prix events, the 2022 Skate America and 2022 Grand Prix de France.[16][17] Lee revealed after the second of these that she had been ill during the Grand Prix, impacting her stamina and performance.[17] At the 2023 South Korean Championships, Lee won the bronze medal, earning championship assignments for the second half of the season.[18]

At the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, she was sixth in the short program after her solo triple flip received an edge call and the second half of her jump combination was called a quarter short of rotation. She said afterward, however, that her main "disappointment" was missing a level on her step sequence.[19] In the free skate, Lee executed seven clean triple jumps, vaulting into the lead in the segment and winning the gold medal. She was the second Korean woman to win the title, after Kim Yuna in 2009.[20][21]

Competing at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Lee finished second in the short program with a score of 73.62, more than five points back of segment leader Kaori Sakamoto and narrowly ahead of several other skaters. She reflected that "winning the Four Continents really helped me to get more confidence, but also put some pressure on me."[22] Lee skated cleanly in the free skate, winning the segment with a new personal best score of 147.32. She remained second behind Sakamoto overall, winning the silver medal with a cumulative score of 220.94 and becoming the first South Korean skater to win a World medal since Kim in 2013. She called this "such a huge honor," acknowledging that "the first half of the season was rough for me. I really tried to not give up."[23][24]

South Korea qualified for the World Team Trophy for the first time in the history of the event, and Lee joined Team South Korea in Tokyo. Lee set a personal best score of 76.90 in the short program, winning the segment over Sakamoto, who fell.[25] Lee won the free skate as well with another new personal best (148.57).[26] Team South Korea won the silver medal overall, with Lee and Cha Jun-hwan being their country's biggest contributors. South Korea became only the fifth country to reach the podium at the event, after the United States, Japan, Russia, and Canada.[27]

2023–2024 season edit

Lee began the season at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, winning the silver medal. She called it a considerable improvement on her showing there the prior year, joking "I didn't fall." She said she was pleased considering she was not yet in peak physical condition.[28] A week later she won another silver medal in an appearance at the Shanghai Trophy.[4]

 
Lee performing her short program at the 2024 World Championships

On the Grand Prix, Lee first appeared at the 2023 Grand Prix de France, where she came third in the short program after receiving quarter or underrotation calls on all of her triple jumps. After several errors in the free skate, she finished fifth in that segment and dropped to fourth overall.[29] At the 2023 NHK Trophy she replicated her earlier result with a third-place finish in the short program and then dropping to fourth due to free skate errors.[30]

Lee claimed her second Korean national silver medal at the 2024 South Korean Championships.[4] Assigned next to the 2024 Four Continents Championships, she entered as the defending champion, but revealed that an incident had occurred just prior to the event that came as a "huge shock." She placed eleventh at the event, having struggled in both segments, but said "the past is the past and I will try to move on."[31]

At the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Lee skated a clean short program and came third in the segment, earning a bronze small medal. She opined that the "audience gave me so much good energy and that was one of the reasons that I skated well."[32] The free skate proved more difficult, receiving several underrotation calls on her triple jumps, coming twelfth in the segment and dropping to sixth overall. Lee reflected afterward, admitting that "this season it was really hard to believe in myself." She said she needed to work on mental strength for future years.[33]

Records and achievements edit

  • After Kim Yuna and Kim Ye-lim, she is the third South Korean woman to exceed 70 in the free skating technical score (TES).
  • The first South Korean junior female athlete to exceed 200 points in total.
  • First South Korean woman who won two consecutive Junior Grand Prix championships for the first time in 15 years since Yuna Kim.
  • First Korean skater to medal at Worlds since Yuna Kim in 2007

Programs edit

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2023–2024
[34][35][36][2]


2022–2023
[37]



2021–2022
[38]
  • Homage to Korea
    by Ji Pyeong Kwon
    choreo. by Shin Yea-ji
  • Rollin'
    by Brave Girls
2020–2021
[39]
Black Swan:
  • Nina's Dream
  • Stumbled Beginnings
  • A Swan Is Born
  • Perfection
    by Clint Mansell
    choreo. by Shin Yea-ji
2019–2020
[40]

2018–2019
[41]
2017–2018
2016–2017
2015–2016
2014–2015

Competitive highlights edit

  • team – Team event
  • GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
  • CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
  • WD – Withdrew from event
  • Medals at team events are awarded for the team result only. The individual placement is listed in brackets.
Competition placements at senior level [4]
Season 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22 22–23 23–24
World Championships 10th 7th 2nd 6th
Four Continents 2nd 1st 11th
GP France 10th 4th 4th
GP NHK Trophy 4th
GP Skate America 4th
GP Skate Canada 7th
CS Finlandia WD 4th
CS Nepela Memorial 3rd 2nd
Egna Trophy 2nd
Shanghai Trophy 2nd
Triglav Trophy 1st
South Korean[42] 9th 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd
Ranking Comp.[43] 10th 4th 2nd 4th 6th 3rd 7th
Classification Comp. 1st 1st
World Team Trophyteam 2nd
(1st)
Competition placements at junior and novice level [4]
Season 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21 21–22
Junior Worlds 8th 5th WD
JGP Final 5th
JGP Austria 4th
JGP Croatia 1st
JGP Latvia 1st
JGP Slovenia 3rd
Asian Open 1st N 1st
Children of Asia ISG 5th
JGP Qualifying Match 2nd 1st

Detailed results edit

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System [44]
Segment Type Score Event
Total TSS 225.47 2023 World Team Trophy
Short program TSS 76.90 2023 World Team Trophy
TES 41.00 2023 World Team Trophy
PCS 35.90 2023 World Team Trophy
Free skating TSS 148.57 2023 World Team Trophy
TES 76.42 2022 Four Continents Championships
PCS 72.46 2023 World Team Trophy

Senior level edit

Results in the 2023–24 season[45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 28–30, 2023   2023 CS Nepela Memorial 3 66.08 2 125.02 2 191.10
Oct 3–5, 2023   2023 Shanghai Trophy 1 69.57 3 126.83 2 196.40
Nov 3–5, 2023   2023 Grand Prix de France 3 66.30 5 124.66 4 190.96
Nov 24–26, 2023   2023 NHK Trophy 3 62.93 6 126.02 4 188.95
Nov 30 – Dec 3, 2023   2023 Ranking Competition 5 64.80 9 121.98 7 186.78
Jan 5 – 7, 2024   2024 South Korean Championships 3 68.43 3 137.41 2 205.84
Jan 24 – Feb 4, 2024   2024 Four Continents Championships 11 56.07 9 113.31 11 169.38
Mar 18 – 24, 2024   2024 World Championships 3 73.55 12 121.93 6 195.48
Results in the 2022–23 season[45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 29 – Oct 1, 2022   2022 CS Nepela Memorial 2 58.06 3 106.82 3 164.88
Oct 4–9, 2022   2022 CS Finlandia Trophy 4 66.00 3 129.72 4 195.72
Oct 21–23, 2022   2022 Skate America 4 66.24 5 113.26 4 179.50
Nov 4–6, 2022   2022 Grand Prix de France 6 62.77 2 130.72 4 193.49
Dec 1–4, 2022   2022 Ranking Competition 3 67.25 3 136.95 3 204.20
Jan 5–8, 2023   2023 South Korean Championships 3 70.75 3 134.56 3 205.31
Feb 7–12, 2023   2023 Four Continents Championships 6 69.13 1 141.71 1 210.84
Mar 20–28, 2023   2023 World Championships 2 73.62 1 147.32 2 220.94
Apr 13–16, 2023   2023 World Team Trophyteam 1 76.90 1 148.57 2 (1) 225.47
Results in the 2021–22 season[45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Oct 29–31, 2021   2021 Skate Canada International 8 62.63 8 127.37 7 190.00
Nov 19–21, 2021   2021 Internationaux de France 8 63.18 10 108.14 10 171.32
Dec 3–5, 2021   2021 Ranking Competition 3 67.98 6 122.65 6 190.63
Jan 7–9, 2022   2022 South Korean Championships 3 68.63 3 137.70 3 206.33
Jan 18–23, 2022   2022 Four Continents Championships 2 69.97 2 143.55 2 213.52
Mar 22–28, 2022   2022 World Championships 11 64.16 7 132.39 7 196.55
Mar 29 – Apr 1, 2022   2022 Classification Competition 1 69.10 1 134.16 1 203.26
Apr 7–10, 2022   2022 Egna Trophy 3 60.99 2 121.33 2 182.32
Apr 13–17, 2022   2022 Triglav Trophy 1 65.91 1 110.24 1 176.15
Results in the 2020–21 season[45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Feb 24–26, 2021   2021 South Korean Championships 2 69.22 4 126.18 3 195.40
Mar 12–14, 2021   2021 Ranking Competition 2 67.85 6 123.00 4 190.85
Mar 22–28, 2021   2021 World Championships 8 68.94 11 124.50 10 193.44

Junior level in +5/-5 GOE system edit

 
Lee at the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final
Results in the 2019–20 season[45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Sep 4–7, 2019   2019 JGP Latvia 3 66.93 1 130.70 1 197.63
Sep 4–7, 2019   2019 JGP Croatia 2 69.29 1 134.11 1 203.40
Dec 5–8, 2019   2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final 6 65.39 4 128.99 5 194.38
Dec 13–15, 201   2019 Ranking Competition 2 70.23 2 137.13 2 207.36
Jan 3–5, 2020   2020 South Korean Senior Champ. 2 68.20 2 136.36 2 204.56
Mar 2–8, 2020   2020 World Junior Championships 2 70.08 6 123.03 5 194.01
Results in the 2018–19 season[45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 1–3, 2018   2018 Asian Open Trophy 2 59.34 3 110.24 1 169.58
Aug 29 – Sep 1, 2018   2018 JGP Austria 7 53.17 4 112.25 4 165.42
Oct 3–6, 2018   2018 JGP Slovenia 4 63.01 3 117.47 3 180.48
Dec 21–23, 2018   2018 Ranking Competition 4 60.17 3 119.75 4 179.92
Jan 11–13, 2019   2019 South Korean Senior Champ. 3 63.66 3 124.07 3 187.73
Feb 13–15, 2019   2019 Winter Children of Asia ISG 3 65.16 6 109.57 5 174.73
Mar 4–10, 2019   2019 World Junior Championships 14 53.02 7 118.95 8 171.97

Junior level in +3/-3 GOE system edit

Results in the 2017–18 season[45]
Date Event SP FS Total
P Score P Score P Score
Aug 2–5, 2017   2017 Asian Open Trophy (N) 1 48.37
Dec 1–3, 2017   2018 Ranking Competition 8 54.75 11 101.32 10 156.07
Jan 5–7, 2018   2018 South Korean Senior Champ. 7 57.64 10 107.60 9 165.24

References edit

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  3. ^ "Lee Hae-in is 'spring of Korean figure skating'". The Dong-a Ilbo. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Competition Results: Haein LEE". International Skating Union.
  5. ^ Slater, Paula (March 6, 2020). "Kamila Valieva front runner at Junior Worlds". Golden Skate.
  6. ^ Slater, Paula (March 7, 2020). "Kamila Valieva captures Junior World gold in season debut". Golden Skate.
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  8. ^ Slater, Paula (March 26, 2021). "Anna Shcherbakova takes world title in FSR sweep". Golden Skate.
  9. ^ "Communication No. 2388". International Skating Union. April 1, 2021.
  10. ^ Slater, Paula (October 31, 2021). "Russia's Kamila Valieva wins gold at Skate Canada in debut". Golden Skate.
  11. ^ Slater, Paula (November 20, 2021). "Shcherbakova wins fourth Grand Prix gold in France". Golden Skate.
  12. ^ a b Slater, Paula (January 22, 2022). "Japan's Mai Mihara reclaims Four Continents title". Golden Skate.
  13. ^ Jo, Young-joon (March 10, 2022). "'4대륙 銀' 이해인, 피겨 주니어 세계선수권 기권…시니어 대회서 시즌 마감" [‘Four Continents Silver Medalist' Lee Hae-in withdraws from the figure skating junior world championship… End of season in senior competition]. Naver Sports (in Korean).
  14. ^ "'피겨 장군' 김예림, 코로나19 확진…세계선수권 출전 불발" ['Figure skating general' Kim Yelim is covid positive and cannot attend the World Figure Skating Championships]. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). March 18, 2022.
  15. ^ Slater, Paula (March 25, 2022). "Japan's Kaori Sakamoto skates to World title". Golden Skate.
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  17. ^ a b Slater, Paula (November 5, 2022). "Hendrickx dominates Women at Grand Prix de France". Golden Skate.
  18. ^ Lim, Bo-mi (January 9, 2023). "15세 '은반 요정' 신지아 환상 점프에… 대학생 언니도 '끄덕'" [15-year-old 'Silver fairy' Jia Shin in a fantasy jump...]. The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean).
  19. ^ Dombrowski, Judith (February 10, 2023). "Yelim Kim edges out Levito for narrow lead". Golden Skate.
  20. ^ Slater, Paula (February 11, 2023). "Haein Lee catapults to gold at Four Continents". Golden Skate.
  21. ^ "Haein Lee (KOR) surges from sixth to take Four Continents gold". International Skating Union. February 10, 2023.
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  28. ^ Golden Skate [@goldenskate] (September 30, 2023). "Haein Lee 🇰🇷 191.10 wins 🥈: "I didn't fall again. 😉 Nah, honestly, as I said yesterday, for being not in my 💯 condition yet I am very happy about my performance at this competition" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 7 October 2023 – via Twitter.
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  35. ^ ""I loved my choreographer's suggestion, 'Let's try something no one has done before.'" Haein Lee about skating her SP to "Seirenes" by American composer Christopher Tin". FS-Gossips. FS-Gossips. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  36. ^ Ge, Misha. "Pink Venom". Instagram. Instagram. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
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  38. ^ "Haein LEE: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021.
  39. ^ "Haein LEE: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
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  41. ^ "Haein LEE: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019.
  42. ^ This competition determines who goes to the World Championships
  43. ^ The Ranking Competition determines who goes to Four Continents
  44. ^ "KOR-Haein LEE". Skating Scores.
  45. ^ a b c d e f g "KOR – Haein Lee". Skating Scores. United States. Retrieved March 27, 2023.

External links edit