Taereung, Cho Young-joon/Video reporters Kim Han-rim and Lim Chang-man] “I’ve been dreaming since I did the World Championships, and I still think so (laughs)” A large gold medal (Four Continents Championships) and a silver medal (World Championships
) 18-year-old Lee Hae-in (Sehwa Girls’ High School), who held the competition) in her hand, did not lose her smile throughout the interview. As she said, she felt like she was still dreaming. At the beginning of the 2022-2023 season, I couldn’t find any eyes that lost confidence due to injuries and worries about technical composition. Jeong Dae-man’s famous line (I’m a man who doesn’t know how to give up) from the masterpiece sports cartoon ‘Slam Dunk’ fit perfectly.
SpotTV News met Lee Hae-in, who was training at the Taereung Indoor Ice Rink in Seoul on a day full of spring vibes.
Lee Hae-in won a silver medal in women’s singles at the 2023 International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating World Championships held in Saitama, Japan last month. It was the first valuable medal in 10 years for a Korean female singles player since Yuna Kim won in 2013.
She also won a gold medal at the ISU Four Continents Championships held prior to these events. He stood on the highest podium as a Korean athlete 14 years after Yuna Kim won the championship in 2009.
The summary of Lee Hae-in’s season was ‘the beginning was weak, but the end was magnificent’. He started his season at the Nepela Memorial, an ISU Challenger event held in early October last year. She won the bronze medal in women’s singles at this event, but with a score of 164.88. However, at the World Championships, which marked the end of the season, he scored 220.94 points, his personal best. The beginning and end of Lee Hae-in is 56.
At the beginning of the season, I struggled with injuries and technical composition… Flying from the Ranking Match
Just a year ago, Lee Hae-in had to swallow tears of regret. This is because participation in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which was the biggest goal, was canceled. In the first and second selection rounds, he competed with Yoo Young (19) and Kim Ye-rim (20, Dankook University) until the end. Although she walked on thin ice for only two tickets, she could not cross the river to go to Beijing.
He suffered great setbacks, but Lee Hae-in did not hesitate. Standing up like a tall man, he won a silver medal at the ISU Four Continents Championships last year. I recovered my confidence by doing well in this competition, but the start of this season was not good. He finished only 4th in both the Finlandia Trophy and the two ISU Senior Grands Prix (Skate America and French Grand Prix) where he competed following the Nefella Memorial.
“The beginning of this season was very difficult. But at the end of the season, I got good results and I was really happy to win a medal next to Yuna Kim (33) as a Korean player. I gained confidence that I can do well in the future. It was a ranking match.”
In the President’s Cup ranking match held in December last year, Lee Hae-in took third place. At the beginning of January this year, he placed third in the national championships and secured the right to participate in the world championships.
Until the ranking match, Lee Hae-in suffered from a foot injury and the flu. He brushed it off and recovered his skills in the domestic ranking match and the all-around championship. Since then, Lee Hae-in’s wings have been unstoppable, leading to the championship at the Four Continents Championships and the silver medal at the World Championships.
One of those who lifted him up during a difficult time was Yuna Kim. Lee Hae-in, who said that she gained strength from Yuna Kim’s advice, said, “I was moved by the message my sister congratulated me after the World Championships.”
Kim Yuna spared no advice to her juniors based on her own experience as a player. She pointed out to Lee Hae-in how to adjust the dynamics and gaze in the choreography.
Also, during the World Championships, my colleagues who visited the site and cheered me on were a great source of strength. Men’s national singles team Lee Si-hyung (23, 메이저놀이터Korea University) and Kyung Jae-seok (23, Kyunghee University) visited Saitama Super Arena where the game was held and cheered Lee Hae-in.
In August of last year, for the first time with his national teammates, he trained for a month at the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province. I became closer with my national teammates than ever before, and I was always grateful to the male singles players who took care of me carefully.
“(Lee Si-hyung, Kyung Jae-seok) told me they were coming, and it was really nice to meet them on the day of the short program. The oppas are all kind, kind-hearted, and considerate.
Kim Ye-rim, who played together in a big tournament this season, also had a good influence on Lee Hae-in.
“It’s a trivial story, but I was very happy when (Kim) Yerim unnie liked my Instagram. Even though she was a college student, she skated really hard and always trained diligently, and I admire that. I went to a lot of competitions with her. That was a huge fortune for me.”
Lee Hae-in also did not forget Yoo-yeong, who is a close colleague and who was with him at the World Championships last year. In an interview with SpotTV News after the Beijing Olympics last year, Yoo-young picked Lee Hae-in as her closest colleague and younger brother among domestic players. At these words, Lee Hae-in said, “I’m impressed” and thanked Yoo-young.
Yu-Young finished sixth at the Beijing Olympics, her best result since Yuna Kim. However, she struggled with a back injury this season and returned the Taegeuk mark by performing poorly in the ranking match and the overall championship. Aiming for his comeback, he is currently training hard in Colorado Springs, USA.
“When I first went to see the all-around championships, I saw Young-unnie and thought she was really good. Alyssa Liu (USA, retired) has also retired, so she has been batting a bit.”
Female players are uncomfortable with the reality that they always have to compete with each other on the ice. However, even in this situation, Lee Hae-in and Yoo-young gave each other strength and became friends with goodwill competition.
“I feel fortunate to hear that my sister is skating steadily and is working hard in the US now. She always gave me a lot of strength, but I made a mistake and lost my confidence in the short program at the World Championships last year. I was able to clean up the free skating by giving it to me. After the competition, we shared many competitions while eating ramen, and although we are competing, we talked about staying close and not fighting outside the competition venue. I hope to meet my sister again in future competitions and always be healthy. I want you to.”
English, which I studied whenever I had time, also helped me build friendships with foreign players. Lee Hae-in picked Miura Gao (Japan), winner of the Men’s Singles Championship at the Four Continents Championships, Ilya Malinin, an American male figure skater, and Mai Mihara and Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) as close friends.
Malinin succeeded in the first quadruple axel in the history of figure skating, the ‘evil jump’. Lee Hae-in, who saw Malinin’s quadruple axel on the spot at Skate America, expressed surprise, saying, “It’s just like a genius.”
A team trophy with ‘everyone’, not ‘alone’, challenging the triple axel again Hae-in Hae-in
usually likes to draw. Even in difficult times, he overcame it through painting. He conceived the story himself and drew a webtoon. He said, “I’m continuing to draw because it’s fun. I went to an art academy, but it was difficult to do skating, so I quit now, and it’s a pity.”
Regarding the webtoon that he wrote and drew, he shyly laughed, saying, “I drew it before, so the story of the webtoon went to the mountains.”
Lee Hae-in captured the attention of the audience with a gala program featuring K-pop. This season, he won the audience’s favor with K-pop girl group Ive’s ‘After Like’.
“Rather than pop songs, I’ve wanted to do K-pop for a long time. The response seems to be good, and there are no players who are doing K-pop yet, so I think they’re curious.”
As for his favorite groups, he said, “I like all of them, but I like Ive and New Jeans Black Pink.” Next time, I’m thinking about acting according to New Jeans’ ‘Hype Boy’.
In the meantime, Lee Hae-in has mainly used classical and soft songs for the program. When asked if he had any plans to try an unconventional transformation, he said, “I want to become a player who is good at multiple genres, not a player who is good at just one genre.
Cha Jun-hwan (22, Korea University), who won the silver medal in men’s singles at the World Championships, tried to transform into ‘Michael Jackson Medley’ (short) and ‘007 James Bond No Time to Die’ (free) and received a favorable response from the public.
“I thought (Cha) Junhwan oppa’s programs and acting were cool from before, and even during the competition, he did his best and came out. “
Among Korean female singles players, Yoo Young and Kim Yu-jae (14, Pyeongchon Middle School) are the only ones who succeeded in a high-level jump in an actual competition. Even Lee Hae-in, she consistently practiced the triple axel. This season, I focused on the perfection of other skills, but I still have the will to challenge this skill again.
“To be honest, I had been jumping the triple axel for a long time and wanted to succeed by including it in my program. But I realized that I wasn’t ready yet. If the success rate increases and I can put it in the program, I want to try next season.”
If the triple axel is included in Lee Hae-in’s current technical composition, the technical score goes up. He carefully said, “It can be used as a weapon, but I couldn’t put it in because it doesn’t increase the score just by jumping.”
After completing the most important world championship, Lee Hae-in will participate in the national team trophy as a member of ‘Team Korea’. The tournament will start on the 13th in Tokyo, Japan.
“My country is participating in the team trophy for the first time, and I am really happy that I joined. I feel excited because I am with my colleagues. I want you to come.”
Lastly, Lee Hae-in expressed her gratitude to her parents who always supported her in the closest place.
“This season was very difficult, and my mom and dad must have had a hard time too, but they didn’t show it and they supported me, which gave me a lot of strength. “