Figure skater 'grateful' to be back on ice after off-ice controversy

She did not come close to winning a medal, but Korean figure skater Lee Hae-in was still "grateful" for the opportunity to perform in front of home fans at an international event on Sunday.

Lee scored 122.33 points in the free skate at the International Skating Union (ISU) Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. Lee, who was 10th after Friday's short program with 60.77 points, finished with 183.10 points overall. She was in fourth place with four skaters left in the free skate.

This was Lee's first ISU competition of this season. The 19-year-old was slapped with a three-year suspension by the Korea Skating Union (KSU) in June last year after being accused of sexually harassing an underage male teammate during a national team training camp in Italy the previous month.

Lee, who claimed that she was dating the teammate at the time and thus her act did not constitute harassment, took the KSU to court. In November, the Seoul Eastern District court granted Lee's request to pause the ban, allowing her to enter the national team trials in December.

It was there that Lee earned one of three spots for Korea at the Four Continents, a competition open to all non-European skaters.

Lee captured the 2023 Four Continents title but was not able to replicate that winning performance on Sunday. She took a hard fall while trying to land her opening triple lutz, and looked wobbly on the back end of her triple flip-triple toe loop combination.

"I made a mistake on the jump that I usually land in training, and so that was a bit of a letdown," Lee said. "But I'd like to give myself a pat on the back for sticking with it until the end."

Though her score left much to be desired, Lee said that, given a recent turn of off-ice events, she was still happy to have skated before adoring Korean fans. She even admitted to getting emotional upon seeing fans wave the Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, in the stands.

"I've always been the type of person who takes nothing in life for granted. I was extremely happy and grateful just to have participated in this event," Lee said. "It would have been nice if I had performed better. I've practiced at this rink so many times, but I think I was too nervous and jittery because this was a competition."

Lee will now gear up for the world championships next month in Boston. Lee won the silver medal at the 2023 worlds, and while she may be hard pressed to reach the podium again this year, there is still plenty at stake.

Performances by three Korean skaters — Lee, Kim Chae-yeon and Yun Ah-sun — will determine how many quota places Korea will have at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

If the top two placements among those three skaters at the worlds are equal to or fewer than 13, then Korea will be able to send three skaters to Italy. But if the number is between 14 and 28, then Korea will only have two skaters at the Olympics.

"I know what I need to work on going forward, and I will keep working hard," Lee said. "Nerves tend to get the better of me at times in competitions. Knowing the importance of this year's world championships, I will try to be sharper there and hopefully, I will be able to bring more joy to fans." (Yonhap)