“I was less nervous than when I was a junior. In the junior stage, we were always expected to place first or second, but in the senior stage, no one expected us. We had nothing to lose.”
Korean figure skating and ice dancing national team members Lim Hae-na (19) and Ye Kwan (22, Canada) met with reporters on the 18th at the Performance Physio Training Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, where there is a training ground in Korea. Those who played on the junior stage until the 2022-2023 season made their senior stage debut through the International Skating Union (ISU) figure skating ‘World Team Trophy’, which ended in Tokyo, Japan on the 15th.
Lim Hae-na-Quan Joe was originally scheduled to be active on the senior stage from the 2023-2024 season. However, the senior debut was accelerated as Korea won the World Team Trophy entry ticket, in which only the top 6 players from each season with good results in ISU competitions participate. The World Team Trophy is a national competition that competes in four figure skating events: men’s and women’s singles, ice dance, and pairs.
Ice dancing is an event that determines the ranking by combining the scores of free dance and rhythm dance. Free dance is literally free in form, but rhythm dance has to digest the theme music and performance tasks specified for each season. The assignments assigned to juniors and seniors are also different. Those who had to complete the senior rhythm dance program in three weeks did not have time to make separate costumes to wear to the game, so they borrowed the clothes worn by fellow athletes in Canada in 2018 and went to the competition.
The two players said, “Other (senior) teams bring programs that have been postponed throughout the season, but we were worried because we couldn’t prepare for even a month. Still, I tried hard not to be ‘treated like children’,” he said. “I was really happy to hear that the referees told the coach that they saw our performance and said, ‘I thought it was a program that we’ve been doing all season.’
To participate in the World Team Trophy, ranking points must be accumulated in at least three of the four figure skating events, including men’s and women’s singles, ice dance, and pairs, and teams must be sent to all four events during the actual competition. The Korean national team had a hard time finding a pair, but with the appearance of Jo Hye-jin (18) and Stephen Adcock (28, England), they were able to achieve a ‘complete team’. Korea won the silver medal in this tournament, which was their first World Team Trophy appearance.
Lim Hae-na said, “It’s amazing how everything fits together one by one. After looking at the Korean singles players, we chose the Korean team, and after looking at us, a pair team was formed. We are proud to have had a good influence on each other.” 카지노
At the World Team Trophy, players representing each country will also hold a cheering match. Kwan said, “The Korean players cheered the loudest. I was especially surprised that Lee Hae-in (of the female singles) screamed really loudly.” Lim Hae-na also said, “I asked Cha Jun-hwan (of the men’s singles), ‘What kind of cheering tools should I bring before the competition? ‘I’ve already prepared everything’ came back. She even filled one of her carriers with cheering supplies,” she laughs.
Unlike Im Hae-na, who has dual citizenship between Korea and Canada, Kwan is a Canadian citizen. For this reason, unlike other competitions, you must obtain Korean nationality to participate in the Olympics or Asian Games wearing the Taegeuk mark. Kwan is preparing for a special naturalization screening based on the results of international competitions he participated in as a Korean representative. The Korea Ice Skating Federation also decided to help Kwan’s special naturalization. Kwan said, “I heard that Korea is pushing to host the Asian Games in the winter of 2025. If there is a chance, I really want to participate.”