[Olympics] Figure Skating Short Program Yoo Young 6th · Kim Yerim 9th... 'Doping Positive' Valieva Leads into Free Skate

Yu Yeong competed in the women's singles short program figure skating event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held on the afternoon of the 15th at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, performing to the soundtrack (OST) music of the drama "Leftovers." Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] Korean figure skaters Yu-Young and Kim Ye-rim (both from Surigo High School) secured their spots in the free skating segment after their debut short program performances at the Winter Olympics.

On the 15th, at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Yu-Young scored a technical element score (TES) of 36.80, program component score (PCS) of 33.54, and a total of 70.34 points in the women's singles short program at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Although Yu-Young did not surpass her personal best short program score (78.22 points), she earned the third-highest short program score ever by a Korean athlete on the Olympic stage, following Yuna Kim (78.50 points in 2010 and 74.92 points in 2014).

She ranked 6th among 30 competitors, easily securing one of the 25 spots available for the free skating round.

Skating third in the 5th group and 27th overall, Yu-Young began her performance energetically to the music of her short program, "Willing Wind."

She started strong by successfully landing her first jump element, the signature triple Axel.

Although it appeared smooth, the judges issued a downgrade (Downgrade: when a jump is under-rotated by 180 degrees or more), which significantly reduced her score.

The base value of 8.00 points dropped to 3.30 points, and her grade of execution (GOE) lost 0.99 points.

However, Yu-Young cleanly executed the triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination jump, earning a base value of 10.10 points and a GOE of 1.60 points.

She performed the flying camel spin and layback spin at the highest difficulty level, Level 4, continuing her elegant routine.

The final jump element in the second half of her program, the triple flip, which carries a 10% bonus, was slightly disappointing.

The landing was a bit shaky, and she received an edge call (attention for edge use), resulting in a 0.08 point deduction in GOE.

Nonetheless, Yu-Young completed her first Olympic performance without major issues by executing the step sequence and change foot combination spin at Level 4.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Kim Yerim performed to Franz Liszt's "Liebestr?ume" music in the women's singles short program of figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim Ye-rim, who skated first in the 4th group and 19th overall, scored a TES of 35.27 and a PCS of 32.51, totaling 67.78 points, placing her 9th.

She immersed herself in the melody of her short program, "Liebestr?ume."

Kim Ye-rim performed the triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination jump, her first element, without major mistakes, although she received an edge call on the Lutz jump.

She then cleanly executed the double Axel (2.5 rotations) and performed the flying camel spin (Level 4) steadily.

Kim Ye-rim also handled the triple flip, the first element in the second half of the program with a 10% bonus, without significant issues.

However, she received a quarter landing call (when the jump rotation is short by about 90 degrees), resulting in a 0.45 point deduction in GOE.

She earned Level 4 for both the step sequence and change foot combination spin, but her final sit spin was rated Level 2.

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) is seen shedding tears after completing her performance to Kirill Richter's "In Memoriam" music in the women's singles short program of figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, held on the afternoon of the 15th at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. Photo by Yonhap News

Kamila Valieva (Russian Olympic Committee), who tested positive for doping but was allowed to compete in the individual events at the Beijing Olympics by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), scored 82.16 points, significantly below her own short program world record of 90.45 points.

Valieva made mistakes such as landing her first jump element, the triple Axel, on two feet, and under pressure, she was unable to deliver a polished performance but still took the lead and advanced to the free skating.

The second place in the short program went to Anna Shcherbakova (Russian Olympic Committee) with 80.20 points, and third place was claimed by Kaori Sakamoto (Japan) with 79.84 points.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.