Choi Da-bin (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 최다빈; born January 19, 2000) 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, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
. She is the
2017 Asian Winter Games
The 2017 Asian Winter Games ( ja, 2017アジア冬季競技大会, 2017 Ajia tōkikyōgitaikai) was the 8th edition of the Asian Winter Games. They were hosted in Sapporo and Obihiro in Hokkaido, Japan. These Games were originally scheduled for 2 ...
champion and a 5-time
South Korean national medalist (three silver, two bronze). She has placed in the top ten at the
2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
, the
2017 World Championships, the
Four Continents Championships
The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships (4CC) is an annual figure skating competition. The International Skating Union established it in 1999 to provide skaters representing non-African and non-European countries with a similar competit ...
(2016, 2017, 2018). Earlier in her career, she won two bronze medals during the
2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix
The 2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix was the 19th season of a series of junior international competitions organized by the International Skating Union. It was the junior-level complement to the 2015–16 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Medals were ...
series in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
. She has placed in the top ten at the
World Junior Championships (2014, 2015).
Personal life
Choi was born on January 19, 2000, in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
.
[ She attended Suri High School as a student, same as fellow skater Kim Yuna .][
Choi's mother died on June 26, 2017, while battling cancer.][ Choi has said that her mother was her biggest supporter and fan. Her 2017-18 season short program 'Papa Can You Hear Me?' is dedicated to her.
]
Career
Early years
As a nine-year-old, Choi won the novice silver medal at the 2010 South Korean Nationals. Competing on the senior level, she won bronze medals at the 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and 2013 Nationals.
2013–2014 season: Junior international debut
In the 2013–14 season, Choi debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, finishing fourth and fifth at her two events.
At the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, Bulgaria, she placed ninth in the short program, sixth in the free skate, and sixth overall, setting a new personal best score of 162.35 points.
2014–2015 season
In the 2014–15 season, Choi finished fourth and fifth at her JGP events in France and Japan. At the 2015 South Korean Nationals, she placed second in both programs to win silver behind Park So-youn. At the 2015 World Junior Championships, she placed ninth in both programs and ninth overall, thus securing two spots for her country at the 2016 edition.
2015–2016 season: Two JGP medals and senior international debut
In the 2015–16 season, Choi won her first JGP medals, taking bronze in Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Latvia, and Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
, Austria. Making her senior international debut, Choi finished eighth at the 2015 CS Tallinn Trophy
The 2015 Tallinn Trophy was an international figure skating competition held in November 2015 at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia. Its senior-level event was part of the 2015–16 ISU Challenger Series. Medals were awarded in the disci ...
. At the 2015 KSU President Cup Ranking Competition, she won her first gold medal at a national competition. At the 2016 Four Continents Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, she placed 8th with personal bests in the free skate and total scores.
2016–2017 season: Winter Asian Games champion
Making her senior Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
debut, Choi placed 7th at the 2016 Skate Canada International
The 2016 Skate Canada International was the second of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario on October 28� ...
and 8th at the 2016 NHK Trophy
The 2016 NHK Trophy was the final event of six in the 2016–17 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Makomanai Sekisuiheim Ice Arena in Sapporo on November 25–27. Me ...
. She placed fourth at the 2017 South Korean Championships. She changed her short program music from Qué rico el mambo into '' Steven Universe'' and '' La La Land'' in the middle of the season.[ She also changed coaches, deciding to join Lee Eun-hee.][ She placed fifth at the 2017 Four Continents Championships in ]Gangneung
Gangneung () is a municipal city in the province of Gangwon-do, on the east coast of South Korea. It has a population of 213,658 (as of 2017).Gangneung City (2003)Population & Households. Retrieved January 14, 2006. Gangneung is the economic ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, improving her personal best scores in all categories.
Called up to replace the injured Park So-youn at the 2017 Asian Winter Games
The 2017 Asian Winter Games ( ja, 2017アジア冬季競技大会, 2017 Ajia tōkikyōgitaikai) was the 8th edition of the Asian Winter Games. They were hosted in Sapporo and Obihiro in Hokkaido, Japan. These Games were originally scheduled for 2 ...
in Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
, Japan, Choi won her country's first-ever figure skating gold medal at the event.[ South Korea also selected Choi to replace the injured ]Kim Na-hyun
Kim Na-hyun (; born January 3, 2000) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy silver medalist and has finished in the top ten at two ISU Championships.
Career Early career
Kim began learning to skate in 2006. ...
at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland.[ She would place tenth in Finland, allowing her country to send two ladies' single skaters to the ]2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
in Pyeongchang
Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...
and 2018 World Championships in Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
.
2017–2018 season: 2018 Winter Olympics
Choi began the season competing at the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy
The 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy was held in September 2017. It is an annual senior international figure skating competition held in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was part of the 2017–18 ISU Challenger Series. Medals will be awarded in the disciplin ...
, placing fourth. At the first of her two assignments on the 2017-18 Grand Prix circuit, the 2017 Cup of China
The 2017 Audi Cup of China was the 3rd event of six in the 2017–18 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Capital Gymnasium in Beijing on 3–5 November. Medals were aw ...
, she placed a disappointing ninth, hampered by a foot injury. She subsequently withdrew from her second Grand Prix event at the 2017 Skate America
The 2017 Skate America was the sixth event of six in the 2017–18 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held in Lake Placid, New York on November 24–26. Medals were awarded in t ...
as a result of the injury.[
Choi and ]Kim Ha-nul
Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in romantic-comedy films ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003) and ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004) and the action-comedy f ...
were selected to compete at both the 2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
in PyeongChang, South Korea, and the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships
The 2018 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Milan, Italy from 19–25 March 2018, at the Mediolanum Forum.
Records
The following new ISU best scores were set during this competition:
Qualification Age and minimum TES requ ...
in Milan, Italy. They were joined by Park So-youn for the 2018 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
The 2018 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships were held in Taipei City, Taiwan on January 22–28, 2018. Medals were awarded in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance.
Qualification
This competition is open to sk ...
in Taipei, Taiwan.
At the Four Continents Championships, Choi missed the podium, coming in fourth just behind Japan's Satoko Miyahara. Choi reverted to her ''Doctor Zhivago
''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations.
Description
The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago and deals with love and loss during ...
'' free skate program for this and all subsequent competitions for the season, citing the difficulty in performing its replacement to the standard she desired.[
Choi received a standing ovation for her short program at the Olympics, including from South Korea's Yuna Kim. She set personal bests in both the short program and free skate and finished seventh overall.][ Her short program for the season, set to " Papa, Can You Hear Me?" was dedicated to her mother, who had died shortly before the South Korean qualifying event. Choi commented following her performance in the team event: "I am very thankful to my mother, who is watching me from Heaven."][
After skating the short program at the 2018 World Championships, Choi was compelled to withdraw due to equipment failure.][Communication No. 28 from ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018]
Programs
Competitive highlights
2013–14 to present
''GP: Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
The ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (titled the ISU Junior Series in the 1997–98 season) is a series of international junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men ...
''
2007–08 to 2012–13: Pre-junior international debut
Detailed results
Senior level
''At team events, medals are awarded for team results only''.
Junior level
* Personal bests highlighted in bold.
References
Further reading
*
2013 Asian Figure Skating Trophy Results
2012 Asian Figure Skating Trophy Results
*
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External links
*
Choi Da-bin's Facebook
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Da-Bin
2000 births
Living people
South Korean female single skaters
Figure skaters from Seoul
Figure skaters at the 2017 Asian Winter Games
Figure skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Olympic figure skaters of South Korea
Asian Games medalists in figure skating
Medalists at the 2017 Asian Winter Games
Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea
Competitors at the 2023 Winter World University Games
21st-century South Korean women