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At the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (CAN) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

This post-Olympic season has been a whirlwind for Korea’s Junhwan Cha. The 17-year-old up-and-coming skater made the podium in each event he entered so far. He started off with silver medals at Autumn Classics and Finlandia Trophy, then added two bronze medals from his ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events Skate Canada and Helsinki to qualify for his first ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. In Vancouver, Junhwan picked up another bronze medal and then defended his National title in January. This week, Cha competes in his first senior-level Championship at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2019 in Anaheim (USA).

With Coach Brian Orser at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (CAN) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

Figure skating in Korea has been connected to one name – Yuna Kim, the 2010 Olympic Champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist, who is the first Korean figure skater to win medals at ISU Championships and the Olympic Games. She made figure skating popular in the country and the current generation of promising young Korean skaters is her heritage. Kim also inspired Cha – who wanted to go to Canada and train with her former coach Brian Orser. In 2015, Junhwan moved to Toronto and joined Orser’s school.

At the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (CAN) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

The Korean skater progressed fast and at just 16 years of age he competed at the Olympic Winter Games in his home country last February, where he finished a respectable 15^th. It was not an easy season as Junhwan battled injury, but he was able to recover in time to prepare for the 2018/19 season.

At the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating (CAN) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

“This summer, I had a really great time,” he shared. “I’ve trained really hard and I got two new programs, too. I was very excited. I was very happy, without the injury I can skate more and I can work harder,” Junhwan explained. “I started training and I started like from the beginning, step by step, slowly. The best thing was, when I was training, it was really a fun time. I can work hard, but with a smile,” he continued.

Many famous skaters call the Cricket Skating & Curling Club in Toronto, where Cha trains, home. Two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) has been training there for several years and so has Javier Fernandez (ESP), who just retired from competing after claiming his seventh consecutive ISU European Figure Skating title last month. Following the Olympic season, two-time World Champion Evgenia Medvedeva and Jason Brown (USA) joined the club.

At the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (CAN) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

Junhwan was happy to get new training mates. “It is really good, I really like them. We give each other good energy and we’re training really hard together. I really like training with them,” he said. “In the Cricket Club I have a lot of friends. They are my training mates and they’re giving me a good energy. They make me happy and I love all of them,” he added.

In this post-Olympic season, Cha is skating to “Cinderella” by Sergei Prokofiev in the Short Program and to “Romeo and Juliet” from the movie soundtrack by Craig Armstrong. “Brian Orser picked the music for the short program for me,” Junhwan said. “In the short program, I am the prince of Cinderella. There is fun choreography in the program, so I really enjoyed, when me, Shae-Lynn (Bourne) and David (Wilson) choreographed it,” he recalled.

At the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (CAN) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

Romeo and Juliet on the other hand was a theme the skater chose himself. “The long program music was my idea. Two years ago I really wanted to do Romeo and Juliet, but I had no chance to do it. This time I got it. It was a little different from what I thought it would be. I expected a more classical version, and then my choreographer Shae-Lynn (Bourne) brought me this music (Romeo and Juliet soundtrack by Craig Armstrong). But I really enjoy the program and the character,” the Korean Champion noted.

At the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final (CAN) 2018©International Skating Union (ISU)

Both programs have been well received so far.

Following his success at the Grand Prix, Cha now is excited to debut at the Four Continents Championships and he feels motivated by his success earlier this season. “It’s (the first time) a Korean male skater got a medal in the final, so I am very honored. I want to keep working hard and keep getting good results,” he said about his goals and pointed out: “The best thing for me is to be injury-free.”