Cha Junhwan Finishes Sixth in Short Program... Advances to Free Program on the 14th

Cha Junhwan, the leading figure skater in Korean men's figure skating, placed sixth in the figure skating short program at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Cha scored 50.08 points in technical elements and 42.64 points in program components, for a total of 92.72 points, in the men's singles short program at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on the 11th (Korean time). It was his highest short-program score of the season. He raised his score by nearly 10 points compared to the figure skating team event on the 8th. In the men's singles short program of the team event, Cha made a mistake on his triple axel and finished eighth out of 10 skaters with 41.78 points in technical elements, 41.75 points in program components, and 83.53 points in total.

Cha Junhwan is responding to the crowd's cheers after finishing the men's singles short program at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on the 11th (Korean time). Photo by Yonhap News

In an interview after the event, Cha said, "I think I did my best," adding, "I do feel a bit disappointed with the score, but I am satisfied because I think I fulfilled the three things I engraved in my heart for this Olympics: doing my best, enjoying it, and leaving everything out there."

Cha secured a spot in the free program, which is open to the top 24 skaters. The free program, where the medal colors will be decided, will be held on the morning of the 14th. Cha said, "There are about two days left until the free skating, but I don't think whether I make mistakes or not is that important," and added, "Even if there are mistakes, it's okay; I just want to do my best until the end and show everything I have prepared."

Kim Hyeongyeom, who skated earlier than Cha, finished 26th and failed to advance to the free program. Kim fell on his triple axel and scored 37.92 points in technical elements and 32.38 points in program components, for a total of 69.30 points.

Iliya Malinin took first place in the short program. Malinin thrilled the crowd with a backflip and posted a total score of 108.16 points. Second place went to Japan's Kagiyama Yuma with 103.07 points, and third place went to France's Adam Siao Him Fa with 102.55 points.