Competes in women's singles short program of team event
Scores total of 68.80 points to place "4th"
South Korean figure skater Shin Jia delivered a flawless performance in her Olympic debut.
On the 6th (Korean time), Shin Jia made her first Olympic appearance by competing in the figure skating team event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy.
Shin Jia of the South Korean figure skating team performed in the women's singles short program of the figure skating team event at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on the 6th (local time), the opening day of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
In the figure skating team event, the final standings of the participating countries are determined by combining the results from four disciplines: men's singles, women's singles, pairs, and ice dance. Depending on the ranking in each discipline, points from 10 to 1 are awarded on a sliding scale, and the total points from all disciplines are then added up. The top five countries advance to the free skating segment, where the medalists are decided.
In the women's singles short program held that day, Shin Jia earned a technical element score (TES) of 37.93 points and a program component score (PCS) of 30.87 points, for a total of 68.80 points, placing 4th among the 10 competitors. She secured 7 points for South Korea. Earlier in the ice dance rhythm dance segment, Lim Hae-na and Quan Yeh placed 7th and collected 4 points. South Korea did not field a team in the pairs event and therefore did not earn any points there. With a mid-event total of 11 points, South Korea ranked 7th among the 10 participating countries. The gap with Canada in 5th place, the cutoff for advancing to the free segment, is 8 points, as Canada has 19 points, making it difficult for South Korea to reach the free skating round. Cha Junhwan is scheduled to compete in the men's singles short program on the 8th at the same venue.
Skating fourth in the starting order for the short program, Shin Jia performed an elegant routine to Chopin's "Nocturne." She executed all of her jumping elements without mistakes, including a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a double axel, a flying camel spin, and a triple flip, and after finishing her program, she clenched her fist in apparent satisfaction.
In the women's singles, first place went to Japan's Kaori Sakamoto, who has announced she will retire after this competition, with 78.88 points. Second place went to Alysa Liu of the United States, who had retired and then returned to competition, with 74.90 points, and third place went to Italy's Lara Naki Gutmann with 71.62 points.
After her performance, Shin Jia told reporters in an interview that she had not been extremely nervous. She said, "To be honest, I was worried that I might be very nervous, but once I got on the ice, I wasn't as nervous as I had expected, which even surprised me," adding, "I hope I can hold on to the feeling I had in the team event and finish the individual event well."
If South Korea fails to advance to the free segment of the team event, Shin Jia will take more than ten days of rest before competing in the individual event. Together with her senior Lee Haein, she will skate in the short program on the 18th and the free program on the 20th.
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