The South Korean men’s figure skating team finished just off the podium at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, with Cha Jun-hwan placing fourth in the individual event, missing a medal by a mere 0.98 points, according to reports from the competition on Thursday.
Cha Jun-hwan, a leading figure in South Korean figure skating, delivered a combined score of 273.92 points across the short program and free skate. His free skate performance, totaling 181.20 points, included a deduction of one point for a fall during a quadruple jump. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan unexpectedly claimed the gold medal with a total score of 291.58, followed by Yuma Kagiyama of Japan (280.06) and Shun Sato of Japan (274.90).
This result marks the second consecutive Olympics where Cha Jun-hwan has finished within the top five, having placed fifth at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The near-miss has nonetheless sparked a wave of support for the team as the games continue.
Elsewhere in the games, South Korea’s Im Jong-eon secured the first medal for the nation in the 2026 Winter Olympics, opening the door for further success in the coming days. The Korean short track team is now poised to compete for gold during the ongoing Lunar New Year holiday period, with the men’s 1,500m final scheduled for February 15th.
Predictions from Canadian sports analytics firm Shoreview Sports Analytics suggest South Korea will finish 14th in the overall medal count with three gold medals. The firm anticipates strong performances from Choi Ga-on in women’s ski/snowboard halfpipe, Kim Gilli in women’s 1500m short track and the women’s 3000m short track relay team. Canada is projected to finish fourth overall.
The Korea House, a cultural center designed to promote Korean culture and foster sports diplomacy, opened in Milan on February 5th, coinciding with the start of the games.