Seoul: Kim Chae-yeon captured the women's singles title at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul on Sunday, putting on another flawless performance only 10 days after winning the gold medal at the Asian Winter Games in China.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the 18-year-old South Korean scored a personal-best 148.36 points in the free skate of the International Skating Union (ISU) event at Mokdong Ice Rink in western Seoul, achieving a total of 222.38 points, also marking a new career high. Kim had previously secured the short program with a new personal-best of 74.02 points on Friday and continued to rewrite her personal record book with a clean and poised free skate on Sunday.
Kim's victory follows a silver medal performance at the 2024 Four Continents, a competition open to all non-European skaters. Her recent triumph at the Asian Games in Harbin saw her scoring 71.88 points in the short program, 147.56 points in the free skate, and 219.44 points overall-all of which were her then-personal highs at a non-ISU competition.
In ISU events, Kim's prior best free skate score was 144.02 points, set at the Shanghai Trophy in October 2024, while her top overall score was 214.74 points, also from the Shanghai event. Meanwhile, Bradie Tennell of the United States finished a distant second with 204.38 points after posting the second-highest free skate score of the day with 137.80. Another American, Sarah Everhardt, claimed third place with 200.03 points.
Mone Chiba of Japan, who had the second-highest score in the short program with 71.20 points, finished sixth overall with 195.08 points after a less-than-stellar free skate performance. Kim's pristine scorecard was highlighted by a flawless execution, opening her program with a clean double axel and effortlessly continuing with a series of complex jumps and spins.
Kim had nearly an eight-point lead on Tennell after the short program, and the South Korean's victory hardly seemed in doubt once she finished. The only question remaining was the margin of her win, and she enjoyed a comfortable 18-point victory. This was the most lopsided result in the women's singles at the Four Continents since Satoko Miyahara of Japan beat Mirai Nagasu of the United States by 21.05 points in 2016.
Looking ahead, Kim will next compete at the ISU World Championships in Boston next month, where she will aim to improve upon her status as the reigning bronze medalist. Kim, along with fellow skaters Lee Hae-in and Yun Ah-sun, will represent South Korea at the championships, where Olympic quota places will be at stake. To secure three spots at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the total placements by the top two of these three skaters must be 13 or fewer. If the number is between 14 and 28, South Korea will be able to send only two skaters to the Olympics.
At the Four Continents, Lee finished eighth with 183.10 points, while Yun ranked ninth with 182.68 points.