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Figure skating 'prince' Cha Jun-hwan reflects on Olympic journey, fourth-place finish

Published: 14 Feb. 2026, 10:45 Updated: 14 Feb. 2026, 13:46

Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea competes in the men's singles free skating final during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 13. [YONHAP]

MILAN — South Korea's figure skating "prince" Cha Jun-hwan has completed his third Olympic journey. Smiling, Cha said he felt proud not only of his fourth-place finish in the men's singles figure skating event at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics but also of the process of overcoming adversity to get there.

Cha scored 181.20 points in the men's singles free skate at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Friday during the 2026 Winter Games. He received 95.16 in technical element score, 87.04 in the program component score and incurred a one-point deduction.

Combined with his short program score of 92.72, Cha totaled 273.92 points to place fourth behind Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan with 291.58 total points, Yuma Kagiyama with 280.06 points and Shun Sato with 274.90, both of Japan.

Skating in the final group, Cha took the ice after several competitors faltered with mistakes. He too stumbled on one jump landing and fell. Compared to others, however, he delivered a relatively clean performance and successfully moved up from sixth place in the short program.

"I gave it everything I had and came off completely drained," Cha said with a smile after the competition. "I was waiting for my third Olympics to end and wondered what it would feel like. I made one mistake in the free skate, but I gave it my all. So I'm satisfied."

Cha placed 15th at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics and fifth at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, both the highest placements ever by a Korean man in figure skating at the time. This time, he improved to fourth.

Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea performs his free skate in the men's singles figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 13. [YONHAP]

"During my final practice before today's competition, I realized this free skate would be my last moment of this Olympics," he said. "The most important thing was to focus on myself and do my best."

There was, of course, lingering disappointment over missing the podium. Cha trailed bronze medalist Sato by just 0.98 points. A slightly different scoring outcome in the short program — which had sparked debate — or one fewer mistake on a jump might have earned him a medal.

"I was fifth at the last Olympics and fourth this time," Cha said. "Looking only at the rankings, of course it's disappointing. But I left everything on the ice without regrets. I gained a sense of achievement from the process. Not winning a medal is disappointing, but I think I learned more about life as a person, not just as an athlete."

At 25, Cha is still young enough to continue competing. Yet the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps feel distant. Asked about his plans for the next Winter Games, he laughed and said, "Four years from now?"

"I didn't come here thinking this would definitely be my last Olympics," he said. "The past four years flash through my mind. There were as many tough moments as good ones. I even wanted to give up at times, but I set small goals for myself and somehow kept going to reach this point. I want to give myself some time to breathe."

Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea competes in the men's singles free skating final during the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 13. [AP/YONHAP]

After finishing his routine, Cha lay down on the ice before sitting up.

"I really gave it my all," he said. "Physically, I was completely drained, and after the fall on the jump, my pace wavered a bit. From the moment I made the mistake, I told myself that mistakes are part of the performance. It was my job to overcome it, and I did my best to stay focused. I ended up collapsing because I was so exhausted."

Asked what gift he would like to give himself, Cha replied, "Rest."

"I've had so many injuries because of my boots, and just putting on skates has been painful," he said. "There wasn't much I could do about the boots, so I skated while suppressing the pain in my feet. For now, it's rest. I've worked hard. I want to let myself rest."

Cha Jun-hwan of South Korea waves to the crowd after completing his men's singles free skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on Feb. 13. [KIM JONG-HO]

Although Cha failed to land his quadruple toe loop, most of the skaters in the event struggled with mistakes. Short program leader Ilia Malinin of the United States and second-place Kagiyama were also unable to execute clean jumps in the free skate.

"The ice itself wasn't bad," Cha said. "But as the free skate went on, it felt like my blades weren't cutting into the ice as well toward the end. When I was skating, I felt my speed was a bit slower than usual. I think it may have been because the arena was warm and there was so much heat from the crowd."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM HYO-KYUNG [[email protected]]