Cha Young-hyun (; born September 24, 2003) is a South Korean

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

and a tightrope dancer ( eoreum-sani) of

Namsadang The ''namsadang'' () is a Korean itinerant troupe which consists of male performers who present various performing arts such as acrobatics, singing, dancing and playing like a circus. It is said that ''namsadang'' was spontaneously formed before ...

. He is the 2017 South Korean national junior champion and the 2021 South Korean national bronze medalist.

Personal life

Cha was born on September 24, 2003, in

Paju Paju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedi ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

, South Korea. He is currently a student at

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1905 by Yi Yong-ik, Lee Yong-Ik, a prominent official of the Korean Empire, Korea University is among South Korea's oldest List of ...

Career

Early career

Cha started skating in 2007. He performed traditional Korean tightrope dancing in 2011 and holds the record as the youngest tightrope dancer ( eoreum-sani) of

at eight years old.

2017–2018 season

Cha made his international debut at the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in Italy, where he finished in sixteenth place. Following a fifth-place finish at the 2018 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, Cha was selected to compete at the

2018 World Junior Figure Skating Championships The 2018 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 5–11 March 2018. Records The following new junior records were set during this competition: Qualification Minimum TES The ISU stipulates that the ...

, where he placed nineteenth. Following the season, Cha made a coaching change from Lee Eun-hee to Hong Ye-Seul.

2018–2019 season

Cha began his season with eighth and seventh place finishes at 2018 JGP Austria and 2018 JGP Slovenia, respectively. Cha was once again selected to compete at the World Junior Championships after placing fourth at the 2019 South Korean Figure Skating Championships. He ultimately finished in twentieth at the Junior Worlds.

2019–2020 season

Cha started his season by finishing fifth at 2019 JGP Russia and eleventh at 2019 JGP Italy. He then went on to make his senior international debut at the 2019 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, where he placed seventh. Following Cha's second consecutive fourth-place finish at the 2020 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, he was selected to represent South Korea at the

2020 Winter Youth Olympics The 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games (; ; ; ), officially known as the III Winter Youth Olympic Games and commonly known as Lausanne 2020 (Italian and Romansh: ''Losanna 2020''), were the third edition of the Winter Youth Olympics; a major int ...

. Cha managed to finish fifth at that event after placing fifth both in both short and free program segments of the competition.

2020–2021 season

Cha only competed at the 2021 South Korean Figure Skating Championships during this season, where he won the bronze medal. He switched coaches from Hong Ye-Seul to Choi Hyung-kyung following the season.

2021–2022 season

Cha started season by respectively finishing seventh and fourth at

2021 JGP Slovakia 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and 2021 JGP Slovenia. After finishing fourth at the 2022 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, Cha concluded his season by finishing nineteenth at the 2022 World Junior Championships.

2022–2023 season

Cha began the season with a silver medal at 2022 JGP France. He then went on to compete on the senior level at

2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy The 2022 CS Nebelhorn Trophy was held on September 21–24, 2022, in Oberstdorf, Germany. It was the third event of the 2022–23 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. Entrie ...

, where he placed tenth. At the 2022 JGP Poland I, Cha's second Junior Grand Prix assignment, he finished fourth. One month later, Cha competed at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge, where he placed tenth. He would then place sixth at the 2023 South Korean Championships. Due Cha having previously finished second at the 2022 Korean Universiade, he was selected to represent South Korea at the

2023 Winter World University Games The Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games, commonly known as Lake Placid 2023, was a collegiate Multi-sport event, multi-sport winter sports held between January 12 to January 22, 2023 and had Lake Placid, New York, Lake Placid, New York, ...

in January, where he would finish seventh.

2023–2024 season

Cha started the season by winning the silver medal at the 2023 Asian Open Trophy before coming in seventh at the 2023 CS Finlandia Trophy. In January, he finished sixth at the 2024 South Korean Championships. Selected to compete at the 2024 Four Continents in

Shanghai, China Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, Cha finished fourteenth.

2024–2025 season

Cha began the season in October by competing at the 2024 Korean Universiade and Asian Games Qualifiers, where he finished fourth. With this result, Cha was selected to represent South Korea at the

2025 Winter World University Games The 2025 FISU Winter World University Games, also known as the XXXII Winter World University Games, or the 32nd Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Turin 2025 or Torino 2025, was a multi-sport event for student and youth athletes, held bet ...

. He then went on to finish seventh at the annual Korean Ranking Competition and at the 2025 South Korean Championships. In mid-January, he placed twelfth at the

Turin, Italy Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Programs

Competitive highlights

''CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix''

Detailed results

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cha, Young-hyun 2003 births Living people South Korean male single skaters Sportspeople from Goyang Figure skaters at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics Competitors at the 2023 Winter World University Games Figure skaters from Gyeonggi Province 21st-century South Korean sportsmen Competitors at the 2025 Winter World University Games