Figure Skater Lee Hae-in Finishes 8th at First Olympics

Lee Hae-in (Korea University) lay down on the ice after completing her performance. Her face was filled with a satisfied smile.

At the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics women's singles free skating held at Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy on February 20 (Korea time), Lee recorded a technical elements score (TES) of 74.15, program component score (PCS) of 66.34, and segment total of 140.49. Combined with her short program score of 70.07, she achieved a final total of 210.56 points to finish 8th overall. It was a valuable achievement at her first Olympic appearance, reached after overcoming numerous obstacles.

"I felt relieved (that I made no mistakes), and I think I unconsciously relaxed, which led to that moment (lying on the ice)," Lee said after the competition. "Since I finished the competition well, I'm going to get gelato with my mom," she added with a bright smile.

Lee delivered a stable performance on the day. After receiving heavy sanctions from the Korea Skating Union in 2024 over an unfortunate incident and experiencing a hiatus, she had shown stamina issues this season. However, she demonstrated her abilities without faltering, particularly in the second half of her program. "I think the effect of significantly increasing my off-ice training time to build stamina paid off," she said. "I was more nervous than during the short program, but I'm proud of myself for finishing calmly."

She reflected, "While performing my program, I approached it thinking this was my own time, and I tried to enjoy that time as much as possible."

Starting with the World Championships next month, Lee plans to continue competing toward the 2030 Alps Winter Olympics in four years. "I want to continue my career for a long time," she said. "I will keep attempting the triple Axel that I've been practicing recently and continue to challenge myself."

Shin Ji-a (Sehwa Girls' High School), who also competed, scored 141.02 in the free skate. Combined with her short program score of 65.66, she finished 11th with a total of 206.68 points. Her 14th-place finish in the short program left room for regret.

Alysa Liu of the United States won gold with 226.79 points, while Kaori Sakamoto claimed silver with 224.90 points and Ami Nakai bronze with 219.16 points (both from Japan).