Hannah Lim

Hannah Lim (; born November 19, 2004) is a Canadian-South Korean ice dancer who represents South Korea. With her skating partner, Ye Quan, she is the 2023 CS Autumn Classic bronze medalist and 2024 South Korean champion.

At the junior level, Lim/Quan are the 2023 World Junior silver medalists, the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalists, three-time ISU Junior Grand Prix medalists, and two-time South Korean Junior champions.

Lim/Quan are the first South Korean ice dancers to win an ISU Grand Prix medal at either the senior or junior level.

Personal life

Lim was born on November 19, 2004, in North York, Ontario to South Korean immigrant parents from Sinan County, South Jeolla. She holds dual Canadian and South Korean citizenship. Lim's parents chose her name due to its ability to be easily transliterated in both English and Hangul. She credited her parents with inspiring her to represent South Korea internationally.

Career

Early years

Lim began learning how to skate at around age four. After years of training in singles, she opted to switch to ice dance in the summer of 2019, partnered with Ye Quan. They were admitted to the Ice Academy of Montreal, a prestigious training school headed by Canadian coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon and Frenchman Romain Haguenauer. The team competed domestically in Canada for two seasons, before opting to switch to represent South Korea internationally. Lim called the move "a 'thank you' gift" to her parents for their support of her skating career, while the Chinese Canadian Quan added "I was happy to represent South Korea with her." Lim previously worked with coach Eva Najarro and choreographers Ginette Cournoyer and Eva Airapetian.

2021–22 season: International junior debut

Lim/Quan made their Junior Grand Prix debut for South Korea at the 2021 JGP France I, the first of two Junior Grand Prix events held in Courchevel, France in August. The team placed fourth in the rhythm dance, but overtook Czechs Mrázková/ Mrázek in the free dance to finish third overall, standing on the podium with American gold medalists Wolfkostin/ Chen and their former Canadian domestic rivals Makita/ Gunara. Lim/Quan's bronze medal was the first medal for an ice dance team representing South Korea at an ISU Grand Prix series event at either the junior or senior levels. At their second assignment, the 2022 JGP Russia, Lim/Quan placed fifth in the rhythm dance and sixth in the free dance to finish sixth overall.

The team next competed at the 2022 South Korean Junior Championships in January, where they won the junior national title by a 52-point margin over Kim/Lee. As a result of their placement, they were named to the South Korean team for the 2022 World Junior Championships in Tallinn.

At the World Junior Championships, Lim/Quan were seventh in the rhythm dance, but rose to fourth in the free dance to improve their overall standing to sixth place. Their finish matched Kim/ Minov's placement in 2014 as the highest finish for a South Korean ice dance team at a World Junior Championships. Lim called it "an amazing experience."

2022–23 season: JGP Final and Junior World silver

Lim/Quan worked with Émilie Josset at the Ice Academy of Montreal to choreograph their dances. They opened the Junior Grand Prix series at a Courchevel-held French JGP for the second year in a row. They placed first in both the rhythm dance and the free dance, as well as setting new personal bests in both segments of competition, to win the gold medal with a new personal best overall. Their win marked the first Junior Grand Prix event title for any South Korean or Asian ice dance team. A month and a half later they competed at their second event, the 2022 JGP Italy in Egna. They finished fourth in the rhythm dance after scoring poorly on their step sequence and part of the Argentine tango pattern dance, but recovered with a second-place free dance and won the silver medal behind Mrázková/ Mrázek, the Czech dance team they had beaten for their first JGP medal a year earlier. These results qualified them for the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final, another first for a Korean dance team.

At the Final in Turin, Lim/Quan finished third in the rhythm dance with a score of 64.21. They were only 0.37 points behind Britons Bekker/ Hernandez in second place, but also only 0.13 ahead of fourth-place Mrázková/Mrázek, who had been the pre-event favourites before having a double-fall in the segment. In the free dance they rose to second, aided again by a double-fall from the Czechs, who finished 0.99 points behind them overall. Their silver was the first Final medal for a Korean dance team, which result she said was "really exciting."

Lim/Quan won their second consecutive South Korean junior title at the 2023 junior national championships, again by a wide margin. They were assigned to finish the season at the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, entering as podium favourites. They finished second in the rhythm dance with a new personal best score of 71.08, only 0.11 behind segment leaders Mrázková/Mrázek and more than two points clear of Bekker/Hernandez in third. They set a new personal best in the free dance as well with 103.31, clearing the 100-point threshold for the first time, and won the silver medal. This was the first Junior World medal for a South Korean team. Lim said she was "really glad that we were able to get a first medal for Korea."

Based on the total results of skaters in the 2022–23 season, South Korea qualified for the World Team Trophy for the first time, with the 2023 edition being held in Tokyo. With South Korea not having any dance teams already competing at the senior level that season, Lim/Quan were assigned to make their senior debut, which meant replacing their rhythm dance immediately after the World Junior Championships. They created a new program to "Don't Go Yet" and "Havana" by Camila Cabello. They finished sixth of six teams in the rhythm dance. Quan lost a twizzle level in the free dance, but they set new personal bests in that segment and overall. Lim enthused about performing in front of a senior event audience in Japan. Team South Korea won the silver medal, becoming the fifth country to reach the podium in the history of the World Team Trophy.

2023–24 season: Senior debut

For their full senior debut, Lim stated their goal was to "be memorable." Lim/Quan received their first Challenger assignment, competing at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International and winning the bronze medal. They made their Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Skate America, finishing ninth of ten teams. They improved their ordinals at their second event, the 2023 Grand Prix de France, where they eighth in the rhythm dance and rose to sixth after the free dance. Quan assessed that "the performance level that we wanted to reach was achieved" in France. They then appeared at a second Challenger, winning the silver medal at the 2023 CS Warsaw Cup.

Competing at the domestic senior level for the first time at the 2024 South Korean Championships, Lim/Quan won the senior national title. They went on to make their senior ISU championship debut at the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai, finishing seventh.

Lim/Quan made their senior World Championship debut at the 2024 edition, held in Montreal, the site of their training base. They finished fourteenth in the rhythm dance, Lim saying afterward she was "really happy" with the result. After earning twelfth in the free dance, they remained fourteenth overall, the highest ever finish for a South Korean ice dance team at the senior World Championships. Afterward, Lim called the championships "surely one to remember."

Programs

With Quan

Competitive highlights

''GP: Grand Prix '', ''CS: Challenger Series'', ''JGP: Junior Grand Prix''

With Quan for South Korea

With Quan for Canada

Women's singles

Detailed results

''Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.''

Senior level

With Quan

Junior level

With Quan

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannah, Lim
2004 births
Living people
Canadian female ice dancers
South Korean female ice dancers
Sportspeople from North York
Canadian sportspeople of Korean descent