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Gold medalist Kim Hyungyeom (KOR) celebrates at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Monday. @OIS/Simon Bruty

Kim Hyungyeom (KOR) dazzles the crowd as he soars to Figure Skating gold on home ice; Canada claims Pairs title at Gangwon 2024

Kim Hyungyeom (KOR) needed a near-flawless Free Skate to capture Figure Skating gold in the Men’s Single event at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 and accomplished just that in front of a boisterous home crowd at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Monday.

Kim delivered a dazzling score of 147.45 points for a 216.73 total to become the first male figure skater from Korea to win a medal in an Olympic event in this sport.

The Seoul-based prodigy held off Adam Hagara (SVK) by half a point, as Hagara had to settle for silver with a total score of 216.23. Yanhao Li (NZL) took bronze with a 208.84.

“I was very nervous today but I’m happy that I could produce a clean and good free skate. It’s the first time I’m doing such a big competition in my home country,” the 17-year-old Kim said after the final. 

 

"But I had so many people cheering me on so I was able to do it well.”

Kim, who sat in third place after the Short Program on Saturday, put on a show on home ice. His opening quad toe loop sent the crowd into raptures, as Kim continued to perform his jumps and twists with clockwork precision.

“That jump (the quad toe loop) was very important in my routine,” Kim said. “It would determine whether or not I finish the competition with a medal, so there was a lot of pressure to do it. But I overcame the nerves and executed that jump well.” 

History-makers Hangara and Li 

Hangara, meanwhile, delivered an energetic performance to "Dream On" by Aerosmith, a song that also serves as an inspiration to the 17-year-old Slovakian skater.

“I'm always trying to dream. I can always dream on because I need to train harder and do more stuff in the future,” Hangara said.

 

“So the song emphasizes my dream of maybe going to the senior Olympics in Milan-Cortina, maybe trying to get an Olympic medal. That's my dream. The song shows my dream.”

It is the first medal in the sport for Slovakia at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). Before this, Hagara had already been the first from his country to qualify for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, winning bronze in China last year.

“I’m trying to enjoy myself and trying to do the best for myself. But also there's putting Slovakia on the map, trying to make figure skating in Slovakia a bigger sport than it already is," Hangara said.

 

“We have a long history of Figure Skating but it kind of went forgotten. So I'm trying to put it into place again. it's a great feeling to have the medal and to show figure skating to all the fans in Slovakia.”

Li is similarly taking New Zealand Figure Skating to places it has never been before. He is the first to represent his country in the sport at the YOG.

“Just going to an event like this is already a very big thing for me,” Li said. “I wasn’t thinking too much about medals and all that. The Youth Olympic Games used to be a dream. Now I can say it’s reality. This is very special to me.” 

Comeback Nagata after disappointment 

Elsewhere, it had been a hugely disappointing Short Program for pre-competition favourite Nakata Rio (JPN) on Saturday, when he finished thirteenth with 55.59 points.

The reigning ISU Junior Grand Prix Final champion staged a comeback in the Free Skating, however, scoring a whopping 142.70 points and holding onto the lead into the final five skaters, but ending up in fifth place, scoring a 198.29 total. 

“When I finished my Short Program, I cried a lot. I was so disappointed. But my Short program was over, I had to move on to the next thing. I was thinking about this free the whole time,” the 15-year-old Nakata said after his Free Skating routine.

 

“Today, I didn’t have nothing to lose, that’s why I just wanted to skate in front of everybody. I hope they enjoyed it. It was a good experience for me this time.”

 

“I felt the crowd’s support for me. I was so happy that I showed everybody what I can do.”

Nakata Rio (JPN) during his routine in the Men's Free Skating at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Monday. @OIS/Simon Bruty

Canada wins gold in Pair Skating 

In the Pairs Skating, Annika Behnke/Kole Sauve (CAN) soared to gold to deliver Canada’s first-ever individual medal in Figure Skating at the YOG following a somewhat shaky start.

Skating to “Monde Inverse” from Cirque du Soleil, Behnke slipped just seconds into their routine. Unfazed, the Short Program leaders went on to deliver the opening twist, following it up with a standout triple Salchow as well as some impressive lifts.

Behnke and Sauve embraced each other at the finish to celebrate their skate, achieving a score of 75.54 points to accumulate 113.63 points overall. It meant a confident victory, with more than fifteen points to spare.

“It feels amazing. I’m really happy. I want to thank all my coaches who have helped me get this far. I’m really proud to show our country off,” the 14-year-old Behnke said after the final.

 

Kole added: “I want to say thank you to Skate Canada for giving us this opportunity. It feels really good to just give our country this medal.”

Behnke demonstrated impressive skills to overcome her early stumble. She later revealed she was simply relying on her training.

“After the trip, I knew it was going to be difficult to do the twist, but I just stayed focused and trusted my training. We did it,” Behnke said. “It felt really good (to produce the program after her stumble). It was hard, but I had to push through and I knew that I’d push through well,” Behnke said.

Kole added: “We just took it one element at a time. After that happened and we got the twist done, we just forgot about it.”

“It’s a lot easier to have another person there with you, so they can bring you back up after a mistake.”

Annika Behnke (CAN) and Kole Sauve (CAN) during their routine in the Pairs Free Skating at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Monday. @OIS/Chloe Knott

Silver for Team USA, Spain take bronze

Cayla Smith/Jared McPike (USA) scored 61.20 points to maintain their second place from the Short Program and take silver with a total of 98.00 points, while bronze medalists Carolina Shan Campillo/Pau Vilella (ESP) netted 62.51 points which added up to 94.03 points overall.

Smith and McPike, 15 and 16 respectively, have only been training together for five months, dedicating six days a week to preparing and fine-tuning their routine for Gangwon 2024. They exceeded their expectations by winning silver. 

“We were just happy to be here and that’s what we came here to do. Less to compete, and more to enjoy ourselves and live in the moment because we’re never going to be here again. It’s once in a lifetime. We’re very proud to not only be on the podium but to get a silver medal,” Smith said.

McPike added: “We’ve exceeded what we could have done in the five months. We came for the experience and to enjoy the Games and the moment. It takes time to develop and we’re still developing things. It’s been a big five months but we will keep working.”

Cayla Smith (USA) and Jared Mcpike (USA) during their routine in the Pairs Free Skating at the Gangneung Ice Arena on Monday. @OIS/Simon Bruty

Figure Skating at Gangwon 2024 continues tomorrow (Tuesday) with medals up for grabs following the Ice Dance Free Skating and Women’s Free Skating. Full schedule can be found here.

You can watch the live stream of the competitions at Gangwon 2024 here.