MILAN—South Korean figure skater Cha Jun-hwan scored a season-best 92.72 points to place sixth in the men's singles short program at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. He expressed slight disappointment with the score but satisfaction with his full effort. The free skate is scheduled for Friday.
At the Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 10, Cha Jun-hwan showed a rare display of emotion by pumping his left fist and acknowledging the crowd after completing his short program in the men's singles at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. His score of 92.72 points marked a season best, surpassing his previous high by 1.12 points, but placed him sixth behind leader Ilia Malinin of the United States with 108.16 points. He trails third-place Adam Siao Him Fa of France by 9.83 points heading into the free skate on Friday.
Cha admitted slight disappointment with the score but emphasized his satisfaction. "I have absolutely zero regret about today. I poured everything I have onto the ice," he said, adding, "The way I skated and expressed every bit of my heart out there is more than enough." He reflected on overcoming earlier season ankle issues due to boot troubles. "I really value a sense of accomplishment. Of course, as an athlete, I would love to win a medal and I haven't abandoned that dream. But if I can keep enjoying the feeling of having done my absolute best, then I think results will naturally follow."
The program was set to music by Italian composer Ezio Bosso, earning strong support from the Italian crowd. "I had so much support from Italian fans today," Cha said. "I felt like so many people really enjoyed my program. I will never forget this moment." This marks his third Olympics, which he described as particularly special compared to PyeongChang 2018, where he competed as a 16-year-old with no medal pressure, and Beijing 2022, limited by COVID-19 crowd restrictions.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Kim Hyun-gyeom scored 69.30 points to finish 26th, missing the cut for the free skate. The top 24 of 29 skaters advanced.
Cha executed a clean quadruple salchow, triple axel, and triple lutz-triple loop combination, earning 50.08 in technical elements and 42.64 in program components.
