Figure Skater Ko Na-yeon Takes First Place in Short Program at ISU Junior Grand Prix Selection Trials

Ko Na-yeon (Uijeongbu Girls' High School) finished first in the women's singles short program at the 2026 International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating Junior Grand Prix selection trials.
In the first day of competition held at Eoullim Nuri Ice Maru in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, today (July 18), Ko earned a total score of 67.48 points, with 39.46 points for technical elements (TES) and 28.02 points for program components (PCS). She outperformed Heo Ji-yu (66.57 points, Seoul Skating Union), who placed second, and Hwang Jeong-yul (61.72 points, Suri High School), who took third.
Ko successfully executed all three of her jump elements: a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a double axel, and a triple lutz.
Heo Ji-yu, who finished seventh at the 2026 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, also cleanly landed her three required jumps—a double axel, a triple lutz, and a triple loop-triple toe loop combination. However, she missed the lead after receiving a 0.08-point deduction in grade of execution (GOE) on her final element, a layback spin.
In the men's singles, Choi Ha-bin (Hangwang High School) took first place with a total score of 79.03 points (42.64 TES, 36.39 PCS), finishing ahead of Lee Jae-geun (75.64 points, Korea University) and Yoo Dong-han (71.47 points, Suri High School).
In ice dance, where two teams competed, the duo of Yureina and Chan Henrick (Gyeonggi General) placed first with 54.60 points, while Park In-kyung and Song Andrew (Seoul General) followed in second with 48.82 points.
The final rankings will be determined after the free skating and free dance events, which are scheduled for July 19.
The Korea Skating Union plans to select the athletes who will compete in the upcoming ISU Junior Grand Prix series based on the results of this competition through its Performance Improvement Committee.
(Photo: ISU social media capture, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.