Cha Young-hyun (; born September 24, 2003) is a South Korean figure skater and a tightrope dancer (

eoreum ''Jultagi'' or ''eoreum'' is traditional Korean performance of tightrope-walking. It is included into South Korea's Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Korea, Important Intangible Cultural Properties number 58. Origin There is no eviden ...

-sani) of

Namsadang The ''namsadang'' () is a Korean itinerant troupe which consists of male performers who present various performing arts such as acrobatics, singing, dancing and playing like a circus. It is said that ''namsadang'' was spontaneously formed before ...

. He is the 2017 South Korean national junior champion and the 2021 South Korean national bronze medalist. He has competed in the final segment at two ISU Championships ( 2018 World Junior Championships, 2019 World Junior Championships).

Career

Early career

Cha started skating in 2007. He performed traditional Korean tightrope dancing in 2011 and holds the record as the youngest tightrope dancer (

-sani) of

at eight years old.

Junior career

2017-2018

Cha made his international debut at the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in Italy, where he finished in sixteenth place. Following a fifth-place finish at the

2018 South Korean Figure Skating Championships The 2018 South Korean Figure Skating Championships ( ko, 제72회 전국 남녀 피겨스케이팅 종합선수권대회) were held from January 5–7, 2018 at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. It was organized by International figure skating, Kor ...

, Cha was selected to compete at the

2018 World Junior Figure Skating Championships The 2018 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 5–11 March 2018. Records The following new junior records were set during this competition: Qualification Minimum TES The ISU stipulates that the ...

, where he placed nineteenth.

2018-2019

Cha began his season with eighth and seventh place finishes at 2018 JGP Austria and 2018 JGP Slovenia, respectively. Cha was once again selected to compete at the World Junior Championships after placing fourth at the

2019 South Korean Figure Skating Championships The 2019 South Korean Figure Skating Championships were held from January 11–13, 2019 at the Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. It was organized by the Korean Skating Union. This was the 73rd edition of these championships held. Skaters competed in t ...

. He ultimately finished in twentieth at the Junior Worlds.

2019-2020

Cha started his season by finishing fifth at 2019 JGP Russia and eleventh at 2019 JGP Italy. He then went on to make his senior international debut at the

2019 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy The 2019 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy was held in November 2019 in Dongguan, China. It was part of the 2019–20 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dance. The Intern ...

, where he placed seventh. Following Cha's second consecutive fourth-place finish at the

2020 South Korean Figure Skating Championships The 2020 South Korean Figure Skating Championships were held from January 3–5, 2020 at the Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Rink in Uijeongbu. It was the 74th edition of the event. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, ...

, he was selected to represent South Korea at the

2020 Winter Youth Olympics The 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games (german: Olympische Jugend-Winterspiele 2020; french: Jeux olympiques de la jeunesse d'hiver de 2020; it, Giochi olimpici giovanili invernali del 2020; rm, Gieus olimpics da giuvenils d'enviern 2020), offic ...

. Cha managed to finish fifth at that event after placing fifth both in both short and free program segments of the competition.

2020-2021

Cha only competed at the

2021 South Korean Figure Skating Championships The 2021 South Korean Figure Skating Championships were held from February 24–26, 2021 at the Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Rink in Uijeongbu. It was the 75th edition of the event. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's and ladies' singles on ...

during this season, where he won the bronze medal.

2021-2022

Cha began his season by respectively finishing seventh and fourth at 2021 JGP Slovakia and 2021 JGP Slovenia. After finishing fourth at the 2022 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, Cha concluded his season by finishing nineteenth at the 2022 World Junior Championships.

2022-2023

Cha began his season with a silver medal at 2022 JGP France. He then went on to compete on the senior level at

2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 21–24, 2022 in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was part of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, pa ...

, where he placed tenth. At the 2022 JGP Poland I, Cha's second Junior Grand Prix assignment, he finished fourth. One month later, Cha competed at the

2022 CS Ice Challenge The 2022 CS Ice Challenge was held on November 9–13, 2022, in Graz, Austria. It was the eighth event of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, and ice dance. Entries The International Ska ...

, where he placed tenth. Cha finished sixth at the 2023 Korean Championships.

Programs

Competitive highlights

''CS: Challenger Series; JGP:

Junior Grand Prix The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...

Detailed results

Junior level

* Personal best highlighted in bold.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cha, Young-hyun 2003 births Living people South Korean male single skaters People from Goyang Figure skaters at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics Competitors at the 2023 Winter World University Games Sportspeople from Gyeonggi Province 21st-century South Korean people