Teen figure skater becomes 1st S. Korean female since Kim Yu-na to win Grand Prix medal

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korean teenage figure skater Lim Eun-soo has won her first senior Grand Prix medal to join exclusive company.

The 15-year-old grabbed bronze at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow on Saturday (local time), with a combined 185.67 points from her short program and free skating.

This was the fifth and penultimate leg of the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. Lim is the first South Korean woman since Kim Yu-na, in 2009, to reach the podium at a senior Grand Prix event.

On the junior Grand Prix circuit, Lim bagged a bronze in 2016 and a silver in 2017.

Earlier this season, Cha Jun-hwan won back-to-back Grand Prix bronze medals on the men's side.

Lim only ranked sixth after Friday's short program at 57.76 points. But in free skating, Lim set a new personal best with 127.91 points, good for third in the field of 10 skaters, and that shot her to third place overall behind two Russians, Alina Zagitova (222.95 points in total) and Sofia Samodurova (198.01).

Performing her free skate to "Chicago," Lim nailed her triple lutz-triple toe loop combination at the start. She also executed clean triple loop and triple salchow jumps.

Midway through her program, Lim under-rotated on her triple flip and was docked 0.57 point in grade of execution.

In a statement released by her agency, All That Sports, Lim said she was gassed while skating for the second straight week in her first senior season. Lim placed sixth at the NHK Trophy in Hiroshima, Japan, the previous week.

"I was disappointed with my short program, but I tried to make up for it in free skating," Lim said. "I am pleased with this meaningful result."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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