'Season's Best' Lee Haein Ranks 9th in Short... 'Jump Error' Shin Jia Places 14th

Nakai Ami and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan Take First and Second Place

Lee Haein set her season's best score and finished ninth in the women's short program of figure skating at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Fellow Korean skater Shin Jia made a jump error and placed 14th with a score about 10 points short of her own season's best and personal all-time best of 74.47, which she recorded at the CS Nebelhorn Trophy last September.

On the 18th (Korean time), at the ice skating arena in Milan, Italy, Lee Haein scored 37.61 points in technical elements (TES) and 32.46 points in program components (PCS), for a total of 70.07 points in the women's singles short program at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. She trailed first-place finisher Nakai Ami (78.71) by 8.64 points and third-place finisher Alysa Liu (76.59) by 6.52 points. For Japan, Kaori Sakamoto (77.23) and Mone Chiba (74.00) finished second and fourth, respectively, leaving open the possibility that Japan could sweep gold, silver, and bronze depending on the free skate results. Shin Jia earned 35.79 points in TES, 30.87 points in PCS, and a total of 65.66 points.

On the 18th (KST), Lee Haein is showcasing a beautiful performance in the women's singles short program of figure skating at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the ice skating arena in Milan, Italy. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Both Lee Haein and Shin Jia showed some disappointment on their opening jump element, the triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination. Lee successfully landed the combination without major issues but received 9.34 points, falling short of the 10.10-point base value. Shin landed the triple Lutz but lost her balance and fell on the triple toe loop, incurring a large deduction and earning only 7.15 points.

Both skaters made no mistakes on their remaining two jump elements, the double Axel and the triple flip, and received positive grades of execution.

Lee Haein was awarded Level 4 for all three spins and her step sequence. Shin Jia received Level 3 for her final element, the layback spin, but managed to make up for it with positive grades of execution.

On the 18th (Korean time), Shin Jia delivered a beautiful performance in the women's singles short program of the figure skating event at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, held at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy. Photo by Yonhap News

Lee Haein and Shin Jia both secured spots in the free program, which will be held on the 20th. A total of 29 skaters competed in the short program, and the top 24 qualified for the free skate.

After her performance, Lee Haein said in an interview, "I was nervous, but I think I did well without any major mistakes," adding, "I'm happy that I got my season's best score." She continued, "After the first triple combination jump, I had practiced a lot the connecting move where I trace the edge on one foot, but at the landing my blade got stuck in the ice, so I couldn't show it properly, which is a bit disappointing."

Shin Jia said, "It's disappointing that my performance did not come out as well as I had practiced." She added, "Since my jump condition has been good since arriving in Milan, I will go into the free skating event with confidence."