Figure Skating Rising Star Heo Ji-yu Ranks 6th in Junior GP 3rd Event Women's Short Program with 63.92 Points

Figure skating women's singles promising skater Heo Ji-yu (14, Seoul Skating Union) has ranked 6th in the women's singles short program at the 2026–2027 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix Series 3.

Competing in the short program held in Bangkok, Thailand today (September 3), Heo scored a total of 63.92 points—comprising 37.05 points in technical elements (TES) and 26.87 points in program components (PCS)—placing 6th among 38 skaters.

The short program leader was Sumika Kanazawa of Japan with 70.38 points.

Neutral athlete from Russia (AIN) Sofia Zevka (70.17 points) and Lia Cho of Canada (66.72 points) finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Heo performed to a medley of "Fouquet's" by André Charlier and Benoît Sourisse and "Lover Girl" by Laufey.

She cleanly landed her first jumping element, the double axel.

In the subsequent triple lutz, she received an attention call (unclear edge) but earned 6.24 points with a 0.34-point grade of execution (GOE) bonus. She then executed her change foot combination spin at the highest difficulty level, Level 4, adding 0.90 points in GOE for a score of 5.10 points.

On her first jumping pass in the second half of the program, which carries a 10 percent bonus, the triple loop-triple toe loop combination jump, both jumps were called for a quarter landing (under-rotated by up to 90 degrees).

She lost 1.33 points in GOE here, receiving 8.68 points.

She subsequently performed her flying camel spin at Level 4 and step sequence at Level 3, scoring 4.51 points and 4.45 points, respectively.

Heo wrapped up her performance by executing her final layback spin at Level 4, picking up an additional 0.91 points in GOE for a score of 4.11 points.

At her Junior Grand Prix debut in August of last year at the ISU 1st event in Riga, Latvia, Heo claimed the silver medal with a total score of 186.55 points.

Her final placement at this event will be determined after the free skating competition on September 4.

(Photo: Captured from ISU social media, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.