Women’s figure skating’s top single prospect, Seo Jin Yoon (THUIL), took first place in the short program at the second Junior Grand Prix event of the season with a clean performance to boost her medal prospects.
Her teammate, Kwon Min-sol (Mok Dong-joong), finished third, giving her the green light to advance to the Grand Prix Final.
Yoon finished first in the women’s single short program with a technical score of 39.07, artistic score of 29.89 and a total score of 68.96 at the sixth edition of the International Ice Skating Union (ISU) Figure Junior Grand Prix for the 2023-2024 season in Gdansk, Poland, on Monday (June 28).
With a 4.11-point margin of victory over second-place Lena UEZONO (JPN – 64.85), Yoon put on a flawless, “all clean” performance.
Yoon executed her first jump task, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination jump, flawlessly, earning a GOE of 1.14.
After earning a GOE of 0.80 on her double axel, she added a GOE of 0.77 on her flying sit spin with a level 4, the highest difficulty level.
Yoon executed her first performance task of the second half, a triple lutz worth 10% extra points, to perfection, earning a GOE of 1.26 and a Level 4 for her dynamic and precise movements to the music as she climaxed her step sequence.
She followed that up with a change foot combination spin and a layback spin, which she executed with perfect form for a Level 4, finishing with a clean performance.
Yoon was all smiles when the score was announced as she improved her personal best (65.98) by 2.98 points from her short program at the third Junior Grand Prix in Turkuye Istanbul earlier this month.
Yoon, who finished fifth in the third competition, can still hope to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final, which features the top six skaters, if she can finish first in the free skate on Monday.
His teammate, Kwon Min-sol, finished third with a TES score of 35.49, a PCS score of 28.51, and a total score of 64.00.
Kwon started off with a clean execution of his first performance task, a double axel, earning him a GOE of 0.61, but was deducted 0.25 points for an attitude (caution on the edge) on his next task, a triple lutz.
After executing her flying sit spin to a level 3, Kwon steadily executed her first performance task of the second half, a triple flip-triple toe loop combination jump, which carries a 10% bonus, adding 0.76 GOE.
After executing the step sequence as a level 3, Kwon’s layback spin and change foot combination spin were both scored as a level 4 to boost her score.
Kwon, who finished third in the second competition, will be in good position to advance to the Grand Prix Final if he wins a medal in the free skate.
The Junior Grand Prix Final will be held in Beijing, China, in December. 안전놀이터