Cha Jun-hwan

Cha Jun-hwan (born October 21, 2001) is a South Korean figure skater.

He is the 2023 Worlds silver medalist, the 2022 Four Continents champion, the 2018–2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, a five-time Grand Prix medalist (5 bronze), a four-time ISU Challenger Series medalist (1 gold and 3 silver), as well as a eight-time consecutive South Korean national champion (2017–2024).

Cha placed fourth as a junior skater at the 2011 South Korean Championships.

In 2012, he won the junior level at the South Korean Championships.

In the 2012–13 season, he took the novice gold medal at the Asian Trophy and repeated as the junior champion at the South Korean Championships.

He placed fifth at the senior level at the 2014 Korean Championships.

This was his first senior experience at national championships.

During the 2014–15 season, Cha won the novice gold medal at the Merano Cup and the senior bronze medal at the South Korean Championships.

In March 2015, he began training in Toronto under Brian Orser to improve his jumps, including the triple Axel and quads.

Making his junior international debut, Cha won gold at the 2015 Skate Canada Autumn Classic by over 30 points.

At the junior level, Cha is the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist and a two-time Junior Grand Prix gold medalist.

Cha is the first South Korean man to win and to medal at the Four Continents Championships, as well as the first to medal at the World Championships, Grand Prix Final, Junior Grand Prix Final, and any senior Grand Prix event.

Cha Jun-hwan was born in Seoul.

Competing with an ear infection at the 2016 South Korean Championships, he repeated as the senior national bronze medalist.

In February, he represented South Korea at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, placing fourth in the short program, fifth in the free skating, and fifth overall.

In March, Cha competed in Debrecen, Hungary, at the 2016 World Junior Championships, placing seventh in the short program, sixth in the free skating, and seventh overall.

In the 2016–17 season, Cha made his Junior Grand Prix debut at the JGP Japan.

He performed a clean short program except for his flying camel spin, which got a level 2.

He received 79.34 points, which put him in second place.

In the free program, he skated cleanly except for an under-rotation on his triple Salchow.

He was the last skater in the free skate, placing first by scoring another personal best of 160.13 points, and set a new world record of 239.47 points for junior men's combined total score.

He won a second gold medal at the 2016 JGP Germany, which qualified him for the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final, where he won the bronze medal.

Cha won his first national title in January 2017 at the South Korean Championships.

He finished fifth at the 2017 World Junior Championships.

He represented South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Cha had to overcome injuries and boot problems to win his second national title in January 2018 at the South Korean Championships.

Having accumulated the highest point total across the three qualifying events, Cha was selected to represent South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he placed fifteenth as the youngest competitor in the men's event.

Cha began his season by winning the silver medal at the 2018 Autumn Classic, after placing second in the short program with 90.56 points and first in the free skate with 169.22, ahead of training mate Yuzuru Hanyu.

He won the silver medal at the 2018 Finlandia Trophy with a total score of 239.19 points, behind Mikhail Kolyada.

At his first Grand Prix assignment, the 2018 Skate Canada, he placed third in the short program and third in the free skate to win the bronze medal overall, landing two clean quadruple salchows across both segments of the competition.

He attended Whimoon Middle and High School and enrolled at Korea University as a Global Sport student in 2020.

He has a brother who is four years older than him, and he speaks English fluently.

Cha worked as a child actor, model, and ballet dancer before becoming a skater.

He has since participated in public campaigns and endorsed commercial products such as clothing, healthcare, and cosmetics.

Also, he has modeled for multiple magazines such as Vogue Korea, Elle Korea, Men's Health Korea, W Korea, and Arena Homme Korea.

Cha appeared on several shows and programs, including the music variety television show King of Mask Singer in June 2020, and the music festival SBS Gayo Daejeon, where he performed a cover dance on the stage and made a special appearance as a guest MC in December 2022.

Additionally, Cha attended the 135th IOC Session as a member of delegation to host the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in January 2020, as well as the 103rd anniversary March 1st Movement ceremony as a reciter in March 2022.

He has a cat named Thor.

Cha began skating at the age of seven at a public rink near his house during a school excursion and liked the "wind when [he] was skating."

His first coach was former South Korean Olympic competitor Shin Hea-sook, and his skating idols were Evgeni Plushenko and Daisuke Takahashi.