Figure skating champion Lee Hae-in thriving with tips from the best

INCHEON, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- When South Korean teen figure skating sensation Lee Hae-in needs inspiration or practical on-ice tips, she knows she can lean on the shoulders of the best the country has produced.

Lee, fresh off her first career title at the International Skating Union Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, said Tuesday advice from Kim Yu-na, the 2010 Olympic gold medalist and a two-time world champion, had played an important role.

"Yu-na told me my programs would improve if I could pace myself. She said I was going at full speed from start to finish," Lee told reporters at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul. Lee won the women's singles title at the Four Continents in Colorado Springs, Colorado, over the weekend.

"She also talked to me about where I should look on the ice, and I tried to improve that area, too," Lee added.

Lee, 17, had been in sixth place after Thursday's short program with 69.13 points but posted the highest free skate score with 141.71 points, for the winning total of 210.84 points.

Lee became the first South Korean woman since Kim in 2009 to win the Four Continents gold medal.

Another South Korean skater, Kim Ye-lim, took the silver medal. She led everyone in the short program with 72.84 points but managed only 136.45 points in the free skate, marred by a couple of glaring mistakes on triple jumps.

Together, Lee and Kim are the first two South Korean figure skaters to win medals at back-to-back Four Continents. They went silver-bronze in 2022.

"I'd worked particularly hard for the Four Continents, because it was one of the events I wanted to compete in so much this season," Lee said. "I was just happy to be at the rink. I was a bit nervous for the short program, but I tried to shake it all off."

As for her impressive rally from sixth place to the top of the podium in the free skate, Lee said: "I wondered if I was dreaming. And I am glad I wasn't."

Earlier in the season, Lee had a triple axel -- the most challenging of triple jumps, requiring a three-and-a-half rotation on a forward takeoff -- in her program but took it out before the Four Continents.

Instead, Lee focused on executing less challenging triple jumps cleanly, and it paid off handsomely at the Four Continents.

"I think changing my programs really helped. As important as a triple axel is, landing triple-triple combination jumps is also crucial," Lee said. "I've decided I should go back to triple axel once I gain more confidence in other jumps and keep mistakes to a minimum."

Lee made her senior international debut at the 2021 world championships, where she finished 10th. She improved to seventh the following year and will be competing in her third worlds next month in Saitama, Japan.

"I will work even harder for the world championships than for the Four Continents," Lee said. "I will try to do everything I can and let the results take care of themselves."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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