You Young

You Young (Hangul: 유영; born May 27, 2004) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2020 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada bronze medalist, the 2019 CS U.S. Classic silver medalist, the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy bronze medalist, and a four-time South Korean national champion (2015, 2017–2019).

You Young
You at the 2019 Skate Canada
Personal information
Native name	유영
Country represented	South Korea
Born	May 27, 2004 South Korea
Residence	Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Coach	Tammy Gambill, Mie Hamada, Yamato Tamura
Former coach	Tom Zakrajsek, Lee Eun-hee, Shin Hea-sook, Ghisland Briand
Choreographer	Shae-Lynn Bourne, Tom Dickson
Former choreographer	Marina Zueva, Tracy Wilson, Shin Yea-ji
Training locations	Colorado Springs, United States
Former training locations	Teaneung, South Korea
Began skating	2010
Season's bests	7 (2019–20)[2] 33 (2018–19)[3] 45 (2017–18)[4]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	223.23 2020 Four Continents
Short program	78.22 2019 Skate Canada
Free skate	149.68 2020 Four Continents
Medal record Representing  South Korea Figure skating: Ladies' singles Four Continents Championships 2020 Seoul Ladies’ Singles Winter Youth Olympics 2020 Lausanne Ladies' singles

You Young
Hangul	유영
Hanja	劉永
Revised Romanization	Yu Yeong
McCune–Reischauer	Yu Yŏng

On the junior level, she is the 2020 Youth Olympic champion, the 2018 JGP Slovakia bronze medalist, and the 2019 Winter Children of Asia International Sports Games champion.

You is the youngest ever national champion of South Korea at age 11, surpassing the previous record set by Yuna Kim who won at age 12 in 2003. She is also the first Korean lady to successfully land a triple Axel in international competition, and the first Korean lady to win the gold medal at the Winter Youth Olympics. She currently holds the fourth highest technical element score in the short program (45.54 at the 2019 Skate Canada) and the ninth highest technical element score in the free skate (79.94 at the 2020 Four Continents). She remains the first and only female skater to have had landed the jump at the Youth Olympics.

You is currently the 12th highest ranked ladies' singles skater in world by the International Skating Union following the 2019-20 figure skating season.

Personal life

You Young is the third child and only daughter of her father, You Il-jin, who runs a business in Indonesia, and mother, Lee Sook-hee. She moved to Indonesia at the age of two because of her father's business, and spent her youth in Singapore.

Career

Early career

You Young began skating after watching Yuna Kim's victory at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Though maintaining South Korean nationality, she was raised in Singapore and trained under various coaches and competed in the Singapore National Figure Skating Championships from 2011 to 2013.

One of her coaches was Singapore-based Zhang Wei, a former Chinese national ice dancer who won gold with partner Wang Rui at the 1999 Asian Winter Games, who she trained with for a six-month period in 2012. Zhang said her talent was evident even then and told TODAY: "She's not the most talented athlete I've coached. But her jumps, explosive energy, flexibility and coordination were very good then, and it is very rare that you get all these qualities in one athlete, particularly at that age." He is confident that You has what it takes to become a future world and Olympic champion. On his advice, You returned to South Korea with her mother in March 2013 to further her development as the training environment is better.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

2015–2016 season: National title

In January 2016, You Young won the gold medal at the 2016 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, becoming the youngest ever national champion of South Korea at age 11, surpassing the previous record set by Yuna Kim who won at age 12 in 2003.

In March, You won the gold medal at novice level of the Cup of Tyrol.

2016–2017 season

In November 2016, You won the silver medal at novice level of the Tallinn Trophy behind Alena Kanysheva of Russia.

In January 2017, she finished fifth at the 2017 South Korean Figure Skating Championships mainly because of a fall in the short program.

2017–2018 season: Junior international debut

You at the 2018 World Junior Championships

You debuted on the Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in September 2018, placing fourth at JGP Croatia in Zagreb. In October, she placed fifth at JGP Italy in Egna.

In January 2018, she won the gold medal at the 2018 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, earning her second national title.

In March, You finished ninth at the 2018 World Junior Championships.

2018–2019 season: Third national title

In August 2018, You began competing on the JGP series, winning the bronze medal at JGP Slovakia in Bratislava, behind Russians Anna Shcherbakova and Anna Tarusina. It is currently her first and only JGP medal. She then placed fourth at JGP Canada in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

After earning her third national title, You was assigned to the 2019 World Junior Championships. In February 2019, she won gold at the 2019 Bavarian Open and the 2019 Winter Children of Asia ISG. After a poor short program at Junior Worlds that left her in eleventh place, You rose to sixth place overall with a stronger free skate. She commented "I’ve no regrets, I did my best."[12]

2019–2020 season: Senior international debut

You opened her season at the 2019 Philadelphia Summer International, where she won the gold medal. You debuted on the Challenger series, winning the bronze medal at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy behind Russians Anna Shcherbakova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva after she placed second in the short program and third in the free program. At this competition, she scored over 70 points in the short program, 130 points in the free skate, and 200 points overall for the first time in an ISU-sanctioned competition. One week later, You won the silver medal at another Challenger, the 2019 CS U.S. Classic, winning the free skate by scoring over 140 points for the first time. During this period, it was reported that You made a coaching change, with Mie Hamada becoming her primary coach along with Tammy Gambill.[13]

Making her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2019 Skate Canada International, You successfully landed a ratified triple Axel in the short program to place second behind new training mate Rika Kihira of Japan with a new personal best score (78.22). She noted that this was a moment she had been working toward for three years.[14] In the free skate, she fell on another triple Axel attempt and placed fourth in the segment. Overall, her total score of 217.49 was enough for the bronze medal, after Alexandra Trusova and Kihira.[15][16] You's success at Skate Canada led to her being given a second Grand Prix assignment, the 2019 Cup of China, where she placed fourth after mistakes in both programs.[17]

You at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

You entered the 2020 South Korean Championships as the defending champion and, given her success on the international circuit, was favored to repeat her title. After placing first in both segments, she won the gold medal ahead of Lee Hae-in and Kim Ye-lim. She was assigned to the Korean teams for the 2020 World Championships along with Kim, and the 2020 Four Continents Championships with Kim and Lim Eun-soo.[18][19]

You at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

Two weeks later, at the 2020 Youth Olympics in Lausanne, she placed first in the short program, a little less than 2 points ahead of Ksenia Sinitsyna of Russia. Because of different requirements for competitions at the junior level, she did not attempt a triple Axel in the short program. She then won the free skate by over 12 points and won the title overall, landing eight clean triples in the free skate for the first time including a triple Axel and two triple Lutz combinations.[20] By doing so, she ended Russia's winning streak in girls' singles at the Winter Youth Olympics, which included previous champions Elizaveta Tuktamysheva (2012) and Polina Tsurskaya (2016).

You returned to the senior level for the 2020 Four Continents Championships in February. She placed third in the short program behind Rika Kihira and Bradie Tennell after a mistake on her triple Axel and an unclear edge call on her triple flip.[21] In the free skate, she delivered a strong performance to place second in the segment with a new personal best score (149.68). She landed all jumps cleanly with the exception of one underrotation on her triple flip. Her combined total (223.23) was also a personal best, and she moved up to narrowly take the silver medal behind Kihira (232.34) and ahead of Tennell (222.97). This competition was the first time she landed all twelve triple jumps possible under the Zayak rule. She expressed satisfaction with her performance overall, for landing the triple Axel, and for overcoming the pressure of performing for a home crowd, remarking that she became the first Korean skater to medal at Four Continents since Olympic Champion Yuna Kim won the event in 2009.[22] She was assigned to make her senior World Championship debut in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[23]

2020–2021 season

With the pandemic continuing to affect international travel, the ISU opted to assign the Grand Prix based primarily on geographic location. You was initially without a Grand Prix assignment, but was subsequently added to the 2020 NHK Trophy roster once it was clearly she could travel to Japan. She was the lone non-Japanese entrant at the NHK Trophy and the only South Korean skater to compete on the Grand Prix that season. Generally considered one of the frontrunners at the event, she had a poor showing in the short program, falling twice and underrotating three of her four triple jumps, as a result of which she placed twelfth of twelve skaters in the segment.[24] She called it "a really weird performance" and attributed it to a failure of nerves.[25] You placed fifth in the free skate, landing the triple Axel this time, and rose to seventh place overall.[26]

Skating technique

You landed her first successful triple Axel jump in competition at the 2019 CS Lombardia Trophy in Italy during the ISU Challenger Series. She is known to land difficult jump combinations. As of the 2019–2020 season, she actively competes with the triple Axel jump, the triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, the triple Lutz-euler-triple salchow sequence, and the double Axel-triple toeloop combination jumps.

Programs

You at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2020–2021 [27]	Istanbul Grooves by Yaşar Akpençe Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra by Philippe Chany choreo. by Shin Yea-ji	Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore performed by The Piano Guys May It Be (from The Fellowship of the Ring) by Enya and Roma Ryan Lord of the Rings by Howard Shore performed by The Piano Guys choreo. by Lori Nichol	I Put a Spell on You performed by Annie Lennox
2019–2020 [28]	O Verona Slow Movement Morning (from Romeo + Juliet) by Nellee Hooper, Craig Armstrong, Marius de Vries choreo. by Tom Dickson	You Must Love Me Buenos Aires Don't Cry for Me Argentina (from Evita) performed by Madonna choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne	Roxie performed by Renée Zellweger Overture / All That Jazz performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones (from Chicago) choreo. by Catarina Lindgren I Can Hear the Bells You Can't Stop the Beat (from Hairspray)
2018–2019 [1]	Tango de Amor (from The Addams Family) by Andrew Lippa choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne	Pirates of the Caribbean choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne Overture by Frederick Loewe I Could Have Danced All Night by Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner performed by Marni Nixon (from My Fair Lady) choreo. by Marina Zueva	Roxie performed by Renée Zellweger Overture / All That Jazz performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones (from Chicago) choreo. by Catarina Lindgren
2017–2018 [29][30]	Don't Rain on My Parade by Jule Styne, Bob Merrill choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne	Pirates of Caribbean choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne	Chicago (soundtrack)[31] choreo. by Catarina Lindgren Hello[32] by Martin Solveig, Martina Sorbara (feat. Dragonette) I Am the Best by Teddy Park performed by 2NE1
2016–2017	Scott & Fran's Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom) performed by David Hirschfelder & The Bogo Pogo Orchestra	Black Swan by Clint Mansell choreo. by Shin Yea-ji
2015–2016	Hava Nagila Jewish Folk Music by various artists	Meeting Krishna (from Life of Pi) by Mychael Danna Don't You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia performed by The Piano Guys choreo. by Shin Yea-ji	Puttin' On the Ritz by Robbie Williams
2014–2015	Hava Nagila Jewish Folk Music by various artists	Romeo and Juliet: The Young Juliet Montagues and Capulets by Sergei Prokofiev

Competitive highlights

You (center) at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics podium with Ksenia Sinitsyna (left) and Anna Frolova (right).

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International[33]
Event	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20	20–21
Worlds						C
Four Continents						2nd
GP Cup of China						4th
GP Skate Canada						3rd
GP NHK Trophy							7th
CS Lombardia						3rd
CS U.S. Classic						2nd
Philadelphia						1st
International: Junior[33]
Youth Olympics						1st
Junior Worlds				9th	6th
JGP Canada					4th
JGP Croatia				4th
JGP Italy				5th
JGP Slovakia					3rd
Bavarian Open					1st
Children of Asia ISG					1st
Tallinn Trophy					1st
International: Novice[33]
Asian Open		2nd	1st
Cup of Tyrol		1st
Tallinn Trophy			2nd
National[33]
South Korean Champ.	6th	1st	5th	1st	1st	1st
YOG Qualifier						1st
J = Junior; C = Event cancelled; TBD = Assigned

Detailed results

Senior level

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Personal best highlighted in bold.

2020–21 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
November 27–29, 2020	2020 NHK Trophy	12 55.56	5 126.17	7 181.73
2019–20 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
February 4–9, 2020	2020 Four Continents Championships	3 73.55	2 149.68	2 223.23
January 3–5, 2020	2020 South Korean Championships	1 76.53	1 143.67	1 220.20
November 8–10, 2019	2019 Cup of China	7 61.49	4 130.32	4 191.81
October 25–27, 2019	2019 Skate Canada	2 78.22	4 139.27	3 217.49
September 17–22, 2019	2019 CS U.S. Classic	4 58.04	1 141.25	2 199.29
September 13–15, 2019	2019 CS Lombardia Trophy	2 70.47	3 130.42	3 200.89
Jul. 31 – Aug. 3, 2019	2019 Philadelphia Summer International	2 64.87	1 128.61	1 193.48

Junior level

You at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

You at the 2019 World Junior Championships

You at the 2018 World Junior Championships

Personal best highlighted in bold.

2019–20 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
January 10–15, 2020	2020 Winter Youth Olympics	Junior	1 73.51	1 140.49	1 214.00
2018–19 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
March 4–10, 2019	2019 World Junior Championships	Junior	11 55.62	5 123.20	6 178.82
February 13–15, 2019	2019 Winter Children of Asia International Sports Games	Junior	1 71.39	3 134.43	1 205.82
February 5–10, 2019	2019 Bavarian Open	Junior	1 68.24	1 127.26	1 195.50
January 11–13, 2019	2019 South Korean Championships	Senior	1 67.68	1 130.95	1 198.63
Nov 30 – December 2, 2018	2018 Tallinn Trophy	Junior	1 50.17	1 113.50	1 163.67
September 12–15, 2018	2018 JGP Canada	Junior	4 60.66	4 111.19	4 171.85
August 22–25, 2018	2018 JGP Slovakia	Junior	3 64.45	4 119.53	3 183.98
2017–18 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
March 5–11, 2018	2018 World Junior Championships	Junior	9 59.79	8 111.99	9 171.78
January 5–7, 2018	2018 South Korean Championships	Senior	1 69.53	1 135.15	1 204.68
October 11–14, 2017	2017 JGP Italy	Junior	5 60.42	4 117.28	5 177.70
September 27–30, 2017	2017 JGP Croatia	Junior	5 53.81	3 109.61	4 163.42
2016–17 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
January 6–8, 2017	2017 South Korean Championships	Senior	6 58.71	2 122.17	5 180.88
November 19–27, 2016	2016 Tallinn Trophy	Novice	3 36.49	1 90.40	2 126.89
August 4–7, 2016	2016 Asian Open Trophy	Novice	1 46.03	1 91.10	1 137.13
2015–16 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
March 9–13, 2016	2016 Cup of Tyrol	Novice	1 46.72	1 88.03	1 134.75
January 8–10, 2016	2016 South Korean Championships	Senior	1 61.09	1 122.66	1 183.75
August 5–8, 2015	2015 Asian Open Trophy	Novice	4 33.38	1 80.71	2 114.09
2014–15 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
January 5–9, 2015	2015 South Korean Championships	Senior	6 52.15	7 97.14	6 149.29

Awards and recognition

Year	Awards
2016	21st Coca-Cola Sports Awards: Rookie of the Year[34]
	Korean Skating Union Merit Player Award Ceremony: Best Newcomer Award[35]
	Sports Marketing Award Korea: Promising Female Athlete[36]
	Gyeonggi Newspaper Sports Athlete Award: Most Valuable Player[37]
2017	2018 Pyeongchang Olympics: the 1st torch bearer in South Korea[38]

References

1. "Young YOU: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. "Season Best Score 2019/2020". International Skating Union.
3. "Season Best Score 2018/2019". International Skating Union.
4. "Seasons Best Score 2017/2018". International Skating Union.
5. Kim, Hyo-kyung; Joo, Kyung-don (January 12, 2016). "The 11-year-old answer to Kim Yu-na". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
6. "Girl Breaks Kim Yu-na's Record as Youngest National Champ". The Chosun Ilbo. January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
7. "S Korea hails new skating prodigy, 11". Today. January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
8. Low, Lin Fhoong (January 15, 2016). "Rising skating star made her start in S'pore". Today. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
9. "11-Year-Old Prodigy Wins Figure Skating Championship". KBS World Radio. January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
10. "'Figure skating genius' You Young, 11, captivates South Korea as national champion". The Nation. January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
11. Chen, May (January 12, 2016). "Ice-skating: South Korean champ a Singapore-raised kid". The Straits Times. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
12. Slater, Paula (March 9, 2019). ""Quad queen" Trusova defends Junior World title". Golden Skate.
13. 松本航 Nikkan Sports [@nikkan_wm] (October 18, 2019). "昨日、GPスケートカナダへ出発した #紀平梨花 選手。取材した記者によるとバンクーバーで先に練習し、ケロウナ入り。終わってからは1週間ほどコロラドへ行くそう。同じ浜田コーチから指導を受け、切磋琢磨するユ・ヨン選手も出場します" [Rika Kihira left for GP Skate Canada yesterday. According to an interview, she practices in Vancouver, then enters Kelowna. After the competition, she may visit Colorado for a week. Young You, also coached by Mie Hamada, practices hard and also participates in the competition.] (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
14. Slater, Paula (October 26, 2019). "Japan's Rika Kihira grabs leat at 2019 Skate Canada". Golden Skate.
15. Slater, Paula (October 27, 2019). "Russia's Trusova snags gold in Grand Prix debut at 2019 Skate Canada". Golden Skate.
16. Griffiths, Rachel (October 26, 2019). "Alexandra Trusova lands three quadruple jumps to win Skate Canada". Olympic Channel.
17. Slater, Paula (November 9, 2019). "Shcherbakova wins second consecutive Grand Prix in Chongqing". Golden Skate.
18. "ISU Four Continents Championships 2020 - Ladies Final Results". isuresults.com. International Skating Union. February 8, 2020.
19. "ISU World Championships 2020 - Ladies Entries". isuresults.com. International Skating Union. March 5, 2020.
20. "Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games". isuresults.com. International Skating Union. January 12, 2020. Publication date from the event protocol.
21. Slater, Paula (February 6, 2020). "Japan's Kihira leads ladies at Four Continents". Golden Skate.
22. Slater, Paula (February 8, 2020). "Kihira defends title at Four Continents". Golden Skate.
23. Ewing, Lori (March 11, 2020). "World figure skating championships cancelled in Montreal". CBC Sports.
24. Slater, Paula (November 27, 2020). "Sakamoto soars to lead at NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
25. Goh, ZK (November 27, 2020). "NHK Trophy: Muramoto/Takahashi second after rhythm dance on ice dance debut". Olympic Channel.
26. Slater, Paula (November 28, 2020). "Sakamoto claims ladies' title at 2020 NHK Trophy". Golden Skate.
27. "Young YOU: 2020/2021". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
28. "Young YOU: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 27, 2019.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
29. 김, 경윤 (July 25, 2017). "임은수·김예림·유영, 28일 피겨 대회서 새 프로그램 공개". Yonhap.
30. "Young YOU: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
31. "All That Skate 2018". All That Sports. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
32. 2017 Ice Festa in Gyeonggi (Television production) (in Korean). Seoul Broadcasting System. August 14, 2017.
33. "Competition Results: Young YOU". International Skating Union.
34. 코카콜라 체육대상 신인상 피겨 유영. News1 Korea (in Korean). Naver Sports. March 16, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
35. 우리가 최우수 신인들 (in Korean). Naver Sports. Yonhap. April 22, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
36. 스포츠마케팅어워드코리아 2016 성황리 개최. Kookmin Ilbo (in Korean). Naver Sports. May 2, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
37. "MVP 품은'포스트 김연아'유영". 경기신문 (in Korean). December 12, 2016.
38. "Torch relay for PyeongChang Olympics begins in S. Korea". PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. Yonhap. November 11, 2017.

External links

• Young YOU at the International Skating Union
• You Young on Instagram (in Korean)