Figure Skater Cha Jun-hwan Misses Medal by 0.98 Points, Finishes Fourth

Figure skating men's singles ace Cha Jun-hwan (Seoul City Hall) narrowly missed a medal but recorded the highest Olympic finish ever for a Korean male skater, placing fourth.

At the men's singles free skating event of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics held at the Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 14 (Korea time), Cha received a technical elements score (TES) of 95.16 points, program component score (PCS) of 87.04 points, and a 1-point deduction, for a total of 181.20 points.

Combined with his short program score of 92.72 points, Cha recorded a final total of 273.92 points. He finished behind Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan (291.58 points), Yuma Kagiyama (280.06 points), and Shun Sato (274.90 points) of Japan. The margin between Cha and bronze medalist Sato was just 0.98 points. Having placed 15th at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and fifth at the 2022 Beijing Games, Cha surpassed his own record as the highest-placing Korean male singles skater in Olympic history.

Cha began his free skating program to "Balada para un Loco" (Ballad for a Madman). He cleanly executed his first jump element, the quadruple Salchow, earning a base value of 9.70 points and a grade of execution (GOE) of 3.74 points. However, he fell heavily while attempting the subsequent quadruple toe loop, resulting in a GOE deduction of 4.75 points on that element alone. He then completed the first half with a perfect triple Lutz-triple loop combination jump and triple Axel, finishing with a step sequence (Level 4).

Cha demonstrated strong focus in the second half, where elements receive a 10% bonus. He landed a flawless triple flip-single Euler-triple Salchow combination jump. A quarter landing (where rotation falls short by approximately 90 degrees) on his triple Axel-double Axel sequence resulted in a disappointing GOE deduction of 0.34 points. His change foot combination spin received Level 3, and he landed his final jump, a triple flip, cleanly. He concluded with a choreographic sequence, flying camel spin (Level 4), and flying change foot combination spin (Level 4).