Lim Eun-soo
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Lim Eun-soo (; born February 26, 2003) is a retired 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 ...
. She is the
2018 Rostelecom Cup The 2018 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event of six in the 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held on November 16–18, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. Medals were awarded in ...
bronze medalist, the two-time CS Asian Open champion (
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
), the 2018 CS U.S. Classic silver medalist, and the 2017 South Korean national champion. She has finished within the top ten at three senior ISU Championships. Earlier in her career, Lim won two medals on the
ISU 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 figure skating competition, junior-level competitions organized by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded ...
series (bronze at the 2016 JGP Germany and silver at the 2017 JGP Austria). She has finished within the top five at the World Junior Championships for two consecutive years (2017, 2018).


Career


Early years

Lim was born on 26 February 2003 in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, South Korea. Lim began skating in 2009. She started training with Chi Hyun-jung as her coach in 2014. Nationally, Lim started competing at the senior level during the 2014–15 figure skating season. She obtained the bronze medal at the 2016 South Korean Championships, finishing behind
You Young You Young (; born May 27, 2004) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2020 Four Continents silver medalist, a four-time ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Grand Prix bronze medalist, a f ...
and
Choi Da-bin Choi Da-bin (; born January 19, 2000) is a retired South Korean competitive figure skater. She is the 2017 Asian Winter Games champion and a 5-time South Korean national medalist (three silver, two bronze). She has placed in the top ten at the ...
.


2016–2017 season: Junior international debut and national title

Lim debuted on the
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 ...
(JGP) series in September 2016, placing fourth in
Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...
, Slovenia. In October, she received the bronze medal at a JGP event in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
, Germany. In January 2017, she won her first senior national title. In March, Lim placed fourth overall at the 2017 World Junior Championships, scoring personal bests in every segment of the competition in her ISU championship debut.


2017–2018 season: Second JGP medal

Lim started the season with a silver medal at the Asian Open Trophy in August. In September, she received the silver medal at JGP
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
, Austria, with a score of 186.34. She surpassed her old record, with a difference of almost six points. In her next JGP event, in
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
, she received a score of 58.60 after struggling on the first spin of her program and an edge warning on her opening combination, a triple flip-triple toe loop. In the free skate, she received another unclear edge in her flip jump and popped a triple toe loop in her double axel, triple toe loop combination. Lim later suffered a fall on a triple Salchow, along with a jump repetition violation on her double axel, double toe loop combination near the end of her program, after doing it again halfway through her program. With a final score of 162.58, she placed fourth overall, losing her chance of making it to the Junior Grand Prix Final. Lim announced at the beginning of December that she was diagnosed with a fracture on her right big toe. In January, she placed third at the
national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
. Lim was subsequently named as part of Korea's team to the 2018 World Junior Championships. She would place fifth in the short program and 6th in the free skate to finish fifth overall. On April 18, it was reported that she would be moving to the United States to train with
Rafael Arutyunyan Rafael Arutyunyan (, ''Harutyunyan''; ; born July 5, 1957) is an Armenian-American figure skating coach. He has coached in Armenia, Russia and the United States. Personal life Arutyunyan was born on July 5, 1957, in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, and ...
at his California camp.


2018–2019 season: Senior international debut

Lim started the 2018–2019 season with a win at the 2018 CS Asian Open Trophy, placing first in the short program and second in the free. She obtained a personal best in the short with a score of 68.09. Lim's second competition was the 2018 CS U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. At the event, she won a silver medal behind
Satoko Miyahara is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2015 World silver medalist, the 2018 World bronze medalist, the 2016 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2014, 2015), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medali ...
of Japan and ahead of Kim Ye-lim, her Korean teammate. About a month later, at the
2018 NHK Trophy The 2018 NHK Trophy was the fourth event of six in the 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Hiroshima Green Arena in Hiroshima on November 9–11. Medals were aw ...
, Lim earned a personal best of 69.78 in the short program, placing fourth. However, she struggled in the free program, receiving a score of 126.53. She finished the competition in sixth place with a score of 196.31. At the
2018 Rostelecom Cup The 2018 Rostelecom Cup was the fifth event of six in the 2018–19 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held on November 16–18, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. Medals were awarded in ...
, Lim placed sixth in the short, missing her opening combination and stepping out on both her double axel and triple flip. However, she rebounded in the free program, skating cleanly and scoring a personal best in the free program, finishing third and winning her first senior medal on the Grand Prix circuit. She commented: "I have to skate better in my next competition, but overall I am satisfied. This season is really important for me because it is my first senior season." After winning the silver medal at South Korea's national championships, finishing behind
You Young You Young (; born May 27, 2004) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2020 Four Continents silver medalist, a four-time ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Grand Prix bronze medalist, a f ...
, and was assigned to the
Four Continents Championships The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The ISU est ...
, and as South Korea's lone ladies' entry to the 2019 World Championships. At Four Continents, Lim placed fourth in the short program, with what would have been a new personal best score but for a one-point deduction for a time violation. The free skate proved a disappointment by comparison, with several bad landings dropping her to eighth place overall. Discussing her performance afterward, she said, "I felt like everything is not working today. It’s just an experience. I don’t think today I had any part that’s good." Lim went on to finish tenth at the 2019 World Championships, qualifying two spots for South Korea for the 2020 World Championships. Lim's World Championship debut was overshadowed by controversy when accusations were made that Lim had been deliberately injured in practice by American skater
Mariah Bell Mariah Cheyenne Bell (born April 18, 1996) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 2022 U.S. national champion, 2020 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 2020 U.S. national silver medalist, ...
, who also trained with Rafael Arutyunyan. Lim had been skating slowly near the right-side boards of the rink and Bell struck Lim’s calf with her skate toe pick while making a turn during her run-through. Lim had to immediately stop her practice session to receive urgent medical treatment from the on-site medical staff outside the rink. Her left calf had swelled up as a result of the incident. An investigation by the ISU subsequently found "no evidence" to support the allegation. In 2023, Lim spoke up regarding the incident, saying, “It was an issue between the two of us, and there were conflicts. I cannot prove whether the incident (collision) was intentional or not. Only she knows.”


2019–2020 season

Following the controversy at the World Championships, Lim departed Arutyunyan's camp and returned to Korea for training with her former coaches. Lim began her season with her new coach at 2019 CS Autumn Classic International, where she ranked fifth in the short program and third in the free, winning the bronze medal. She won a second bronze medal at the 2019 Shanghai Trophy. Beginning the
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
at
2019 Skate America The 2019 Skate America presented by American Cruise Lines was the first event in the 2019–20 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oc ...
, Lim was eighth in the short program following multiple jump errors. She rose to fifth place overall in the free skate. Lim continued with struggles at the 2019 NHK Trophy, her second Grand Prix. In the short program, she had errors on her triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, and in her free skate, she had multiple falls and numerous under rotations leading her to finish seventh overall. She was seventh as well at the 2020 South Korean Championships, but as several of the skaters ahead of her were senior-ineligible, she was sent to the 2020 Four Continents Championships, held that year in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
. She finished eighth at Four Continents, saying, " I couldn't be fully satisfied. So what I can do is practice hard and show good performances next year."


2020–2021 season

With the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
greatly curtailing international opportunities for Korean skaters, Lim competed first at the 2021 South Korean Championships, placing sixth.


2021–2022 season

Returning to international competition, Lim's first
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
assignment was initially the
2021 Cup of China 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 ...
, but following that event's cancellation, she was reassigned to the
2021 Gran Premio d'Italia The 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia was a figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), organized and hosted by the Italian Ice Sports Federation (), and the third event of the 2021–22 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Sk ...
in
Turin 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 ...
. She finished in sixth place at the event. The following week, she competed at her second event, 2021 NHK Trophy, where she was fifth in the short program. In the free skate, she aborted the takeoff on her planned triple flip and did not replace it, ending up with only six jumping passes instead of the allowed seven and ending up sixth in that segment, but remained in fifth overall. At the 2022 Korean Championships, Lim placed sixth in the short program but ninth in the free skate, dropping to ninth-place overall.


2022–2023 season

Although assigned to compete at 2022 Skate Canada, Lim withdrew and opted to sit out of the
2022–23 figure skating season The 2022–23 figure skating season began on July 1, 2022, and ended on June 30, 2023. During this season, elite skaters competed at the ISU (International Skating Union) Championship level at the 2023 European Championships, Four Continents Ch ...
. On July 11, 2023, Lim announced her retirement from competitive figure skating.


Post-competitive career

Since retiring from competitive figure skating, Lim began choreographing for former coach, Choi Hyung-kyung's students. Her clients have included Kim Chae-yeon and Lee Jae-keun. In August 2024, Lim starred as the lead role in a South Korean musical ice show, titled, "G-SHOW: THE LUNA." In February 2025, Lim, alongside fellow retired figure skaters,
Choi Da-bin Choi Da-bin (; born January 19, 2000) is a retired South Korean competitive figure skater. She is the 2017 Asian Winter Games champion and a 5-time South Korean national medalist (three silver, two bronze). She has placed in the top ten at the ...
and Wi Seoyeong, were invited to perform together during the Gala at the 2025 Four Continents Championships, which were held in
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
.


Programs


Competitive highlights

''GP:
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
; 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 ...
''


2016–17 to present


Pre-international debut


Detailed results


Senior level


Junior level

* Personal best highlighted in bold.


Awards and recognition


References


Further reading


2016 ISU JGP Germany Ladies Results

2016 ISU JGP Slovenia Ladies Results

2017 Asian Open Trophy Results



2013 Asian Open Trophy Results


External links

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World Record Holders The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Eun-soo 2003 births Living people South Korean female single skaters Medalists at International Skating Union championships Female sports medalists Figure skaters from Seoul 21st-century South Korean sportswomen