The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is here!
Who are the figure skaters to watch this year?
And what are their signature moves on ice?
Ye-Lim Kim, Young You, Jun-Hwan Cha and Si-hyeong Lee will represent South Korea at the Winter Olympics 2022
They are following the footpath of their compatriot, Yuna Kim, dubbed the “Queen” Yuna, who had won the 2010 Olympic Gold and 2014 Olympic silver medals for Korea!
Yuna Kim is well known for her textbook 3Lz-3T, as well as the Ina-Bauer into 2A.
These moves were always the highlight of her programs.
They are now the favorite moves of these young Korean skaters as well.
Almost all young Korean skaters have the Ina-Bauer in their programs.
Among them, Jun-Hwan Cha has one of the most jaw-dropping Ina-Bauer.
He could bend his waist so low and hold his move so long that provides the best scenery for the program.
Jun-Hwan Cha's signature: Ina-Bauer, Lyrical moves, Male version of Yuna Kim
Jun-Hwan Cha, dubbed the female version of Yuna Kim since young,
is well known for his lyrical movements on ice which match the music perfectly!
The newly crowned 4 Continents Championships 2022 champion,
Jun-Hwan Cha will be going in as South Korea’s best hope for a medal in Men’s figure skating.
For the ladies, Ye-Lim Kim has been the most consistent Korean skater with her 3Lz-3T, following Yuna Kim’s footpath.
again another 3Lz-3T
Yelim Kim's signature: 3Lz-3T, Ina-Bauer, "Yuna Kim Wannabe"
However, things have changed, 3Lz-3T just won’t cut it.
You need some ultra-C elements such as 3A and Quads to stay competitive in the women competition now!
Another South Korean figure skater, Young You had been training for 3A
and trying to use that as her weapon to fight for a podium finish for the Korean ladies.
Young You gained her fame early when she won the Korean Nationals 2016 at 11 years old,
breaking the previous record set by Yuna Kim (which she won at 13 years old)
She will be going in as South Korea’s best hope for a medal in Women’s figure skating.
Besides Young You, Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi and Mana Kawabe
are also training for 3A to try and fight for the podium finish for Japan.
she has a 3A in her repertoire
will she..yes! produce it here
and set off by the 3A
watch out for her in the future
she just could make the Japanese team
Wakaba Higuchi is well known for her powerful jumps and incredibly emotional skates which match the music.
Her teammate, Kaori Sakamoto, another powerful jumper, is known for her incredible speed on ice!
Kaori had been training for Quad Toeloop (4T) but had never been able to perform them in the competition.
Can we see this head-cutter spiral in Beijing 2022?
Another skater who has had quads is Alysa Liu from the US.
Armed with 3A and 4Lz in her junior days, Alysa Liu had been hailed as the US weapon against the Russian ladies for long.
However, she has not regained her 4Lz and has lost her consistency for 3A since her senior debut.
3A will be her first jump
not tonight
This is in vast contrast to her early rival, Kamila Valieva of Russia, who has been shining since her senior debut.
For Women’s skating, team Russia is looking for a podium sweep and make history!
It will be a long shot for any other women skater to challenge the podium against the dream team of Russia!
Kamila Valieva, the reigning Russian National Champion and European Champion, will be Russia’s best shot for gold
She not only can do 3A beautifully, she has the quads!
absolutely no problem
She has been performing as many as 2 Triple Axels and 3 Quads consistently in both of her short and long programs lately!
On top of the ultra-C elements, she is also well known for her lyrical movements and intricate transitions in and out of her jumps.
If she performs her routines cleanly, not only will she win the gold, she will win the gold with a huge margin
just like how she did in the Russian Nationals 2022!
Her biggest challenge for gold comes from her fellow teammates, 2 years her senior!
Anna Shcherbakova, another Russian skater with the quads,
beautiful skater! she recovers with her 4F!
she has the power to move you to tears in one program with her emotional skates.
three-time national champion here in Russia
world champion!
such a charming young woman
Because of the recent injury, she has toned down her difficult elements.
But who wouldn’t fall in love with her beautiful and lyrical movements on ice?
She and her fellow teammate, Alexandra Trusova, are the face of the ladies quad revolution!
already one of those names you think of when you think to the olympics
Alexandra Trusova!
Sasha Trusova, dubbed the Quad Queen, has changed the sport of women’s figure skating once and for all
by landing the first 4T, 4Lz, 4F and multiple quads in one program as a woman!
she is the first to ever land multiple quads at world championship
the second 4Lz late in the program, hands above the head
straight and strong!
She will be going into the Olympic games, challenging 5 Quads in one program!
This is basically the technical elements of Nathan Chen, when he won the World Championships 2021!
Nathan Chen, dubbed the "Quad King", is known to be able to challenge as many as 5 or 6 Quads in one program!
Can you count how many QUADS?
we're in the second half of the program now
and there's a 4S
just amazing
He is the three time and reigning World Champion, undefeated for the past 3 years!
Over the past 3 years, he had only suffered 1 loss among all the competitions he entered!
And that was a small competition, Skate America 2021, where he finished 3rd.
and you know you're dealing with an incredible athlete when a program that has 4 QUADS
completely landed, looks like a big disappointment
The skaters who handed him the defeat were his fellow teammate, Vincent Zhou and Japan’s Shoma Uno.
Vincent Zhou had been skating under Nathan’s shadow throughout the years.
really hard to comprehend
but this is a skater you failed to qualify for the free skate in Stockholm at the World Championships
another phenomenal performance from Vincent
winner at the Cranberry Cup in Boston, winner of the olympic qualifier and here, our winner of Skate America at Las Vegas
The 2019 World Bronze Medalist, Vincent will challenge 5 Quads in his long program, following Nathan’s footpath
the brilliant Jason Brown
Their American’s compatriot, Jason Brown, even though without any stable quad,
is well known among fans for having some jaw-dropping signature moves that represent classic skating
Team Japan - Men
Japan’s Shoma Uno will also challenge 5 Quads in his long program!
Shoma Uno is the reigning Olympic Silver medalist
Shoma Uno is well known for his superb strong knee bend to save basically any jump
He had suffered loss of motivation and lost his consistency since his last Olympic games.
twice a Silver at the World Championships, twice fourth, just off the podium
and that's where he find himself much better here
However, going into the Olympic Games, he found a new motivation, which is to challenge 5 Quads, and to aim for the top podium finish!
Yuma Kagiyama = Speed, deep edges, quads, Heir of Japanese Figure Skating Champion
While Shoma was losing his motivation, another skater from his country was quickly rising through his ranks
and taking over the place, and that’s Yuma Kagiyama.
lovely 4T-3T as well
there with his father
Yuma was born to a figure skating family. His father / coach, Masakazu Kagiyama is the 1989 World junior Bronze medalist and 3xJapan Champion
beating olympic Silver medalist
and rightfully celebrating with his father
He’s known for having good speed
and deep edges throughout his skating programs, almost the Japanese great skating heritage
Like Vincent who had been skating under Nathan’s shadow,
Both Yuma and Shoma had been skating under the shadow of their country’s top man on ice!
and he's always just being in the shadow a little bit of Yuzuru..
Some dubbed it, the GOAT (Greatest of All Time)
Yuzuru Hanyu = “Perfection” in Figure Skating, Jumps, spins, steps, you name it
the double Olympic Champion
On top of his jumping ability, Yuzuru Hanyu is well known for having the flexibility that breaks most men’s spines
Is he going to do it?!
He's going for the Ina Bauer!
He did it! Ina Bauer
That's beautiful
Yuzuru, how do you feel?
First time performing in front of an Olympic champion, how do you feel?
I'm super nervous
So are you going to the Olympics?
YES!
Yuzuru Hanyu is also well known for having the most difficult transitions and steps in and out of his jumps
The most well rounded figure skater
Some fans dubbed that - Yuzuru Hanyu is figure skating itself
Going into Olympics 2022, Hanyu will challenge a move no one had ever done on ice
It will be the most epic battle!
Who will you be rooting for?
And who will be the Ultimate Champion!