Although there were mistakes, Cha Jun-hwan (25, Seoul Metropolitan Government) gave it his all.
Cha Jun-hwan scored 95.16 in technical elements (TES), 87.04 in program components (PCS) and received a 1.00 deduction for a total of 181.20 in the men's singles free skate at the competition held at the Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 14.
Adding his short program score of 92.72, Cha finished with a total of 273.92, placing fourth overall. It is his best personal result in his third Olympics.
Mikhail Shaidurov of Kazakhstan caused an upset by winning the gold with 291.58 points. Japan's Kaiyama Yuma (280.06) and Sato ?? (274.90) took the silver and bronze, respectively.
Cha Jun-hwan's major jump mistake in the free skate effectively took him out of medal contention. According to scoring calculations, had Cha finished cleanly he could have reached the bronze, making the result even more regrettable. Cha was only 0.98 points behind the bronze medalist Sato ?��?. The -1 deduction for Cha's jump mistake felt very large.
After the competition, Cha Jun-hwan sank to the ground. Relief that four years of preparation for the Olympics had ended and disappointment at the mistake came over him at the same time.
Cha Jun-hwan said, "I finished doing my best. As I said after the short program that I would go and do everything, I did. I'm satisfied. One mistake is unfortunate, but regardless I didn't dwell on it and did my best in the rest of the performance. I have no regrets."
On why he sat down after the competition, Cha Jun-hwan explained, "I thought about the four years I ran. Being my third Olympics made me think about it more. I did my best throughout the competition in many ways. I poured all my energy into it. That's why I sat down. Mistakes can happen. No matter how perfectly you prepare, you still have to stay steady and concentrate on the competition until the end. I focused on the program."
Cha Jun-hwan thanked fans, saying, "At this Olympics I truly gave everything moment to moment in both the short and free. Many people cheered for me. It's early morning Korea time, and I am so grateful for the support that words aren't enough."
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