Choi Ji-eun (Korean최지은; born May 25, 1988) is a South Korean figure skating coach and former competitor. She is a five-time South Korean national medalist, having won two silver and three bronze medals. She won the bronze medal at the 2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Hungary and reached the free skate at four ISU Championships.

Choi Ji-eun
Choi in January 2005
Born (1988-05-25) May 25, 1988 (age 36)
Daejeon, South Korea
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Figure skating career
Country South Korea
Began skating1998
Retired2010
Choi Ji-eun
Hangul
최지은
Hanja
Revised RomanizationChoe Ji-eun
McCune–ReischauerCh'oe Chiŭn

Personal life

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Choi Ji-eun was born May 25, 1988, in Daejeon, South Korea.[1] As a child, she learned to play the piano.[2]

Career

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Choi began skating at age 10.[1] From 2000, she was coached mainly by Shin Hea-sook in Seoul.[2] She debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series in late October 2002, placing 14th in Milan, Italy. She reached the free skate at the 2003 World Junior Championships in Ostrava by placing 13th in her qualifying group and 14th in the short program. She ranked 17th in the free skate and 18th overall.

During the summer of 2003, Choi trained in Colorado Springs, Colorado for two months, in preparation for the 2003–04 season.[2] She became South Korea's senior national silver medalist. She injured her hip during the season.[2]

Choi returned to Colorado Springs in the summer of 2004.[2] Ranked 12th in the short program and 10th in the free skate, she finished 10th at the 2005 Four Continents Championships in Gangneung, South Korea. She advanced out of her qualifying group at the 2005 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, but was eliminated after placing 30th in the short program. She injured her knee and thigh during the season.[2]

Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Choi again spent two months training in Colorado Springs.[2] As the leading South Korean senior ladies' skater, she competed at the 2005 Karl Schäfer Memorial to qualify a spot for her country in the ladies' event at the 2006 Winter Olympics, but her placement, 11th, was insufficient. She sustained a serious ankle injury prior to the 2006 Four Continents Championships.[2] She placed 17th in the short, 12th in the free, and 13th overall at Four Continents, held in Colorado Springs. At the 2006 World Championships in Calgary, she placed 20th in her qualifying group, which meant she did not advance to the short program.

In the summer of 2006, Choi trained under Josée Chouinard at the Granite Club in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[2] She won the bronze medal at the 2007 South Korean Championships among four senior ladies.[3] Coached by Shin Hea-Sook at the start of 2006–07,[2] she had switched to Lee Kyu-hyun by the end of the season.[4] At the 2007 World Junior Championships, held in Oberstdorf, Germany, she placed 14th in the short program, 20th in the free skate, and 20th overall.

Choi has been credited with performing a flying layback spin in competition.[5] She is one of the few skaters to achieve this distinction.

Programs

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Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2009–10
[1]
2008-09
2007-08
  • Love Story
    by Francis Lai
2006–07
[2][4]
  • Romeo and Juliet
    by Nino Rota
    choreo. by Yutaka Higuchi
  • Violin Concerto in D Minor, Opus 35
    by Tchaikovski
    choreo. by Yutaka Higuchi
2005–06
[2][6]
  • Serenade
    by Franz Peter Schubert
    choreo. by Lori Nichol, Shin Hea-sook
2004–05
[2][7]
  • Serenade
    by Franz Peter Schubert
    choreo. by Lori Nichol, Shin Amano
2003–04
[8]
  • Puccini without Words
    by Giacomo Puccini
    choreo. by Catarina Lindgren, Tom Dickson
2002–03
[9]

Competitive highlights

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International[10]
Event 00–01 01–02 02–03 03–04 04–05 05–06 06–07 07–08 08–09 09–10
Worlds 30th 30th 38th
Four Continents 10th 13th
Asian Games 9th
Nebelhorn 23rd
NRW Trophy 20th
Schäfer Memorial 11th
Universiade 9th
International: Junior[10]
Junior Worlds 18th 20th
JGP Estonia 10th
JGP Hungary 3rd
JGP Italy 14th
JGP Japan 6th
JGP Mexico 6th
JGP Serbia 9th
JGP Taiwan 4th
JGP Ukraine 15th
Triglav Trophy 4th J.
National[10]
South Korean 2nd N. 2nd J. 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd 6th WD 6th
Levels: N. = Novice, J. = Junior; WD: Withdrew

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Ji Eun CHOI: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Mittan, Barry (October 15, 2006). "Choi Helps Lead the Way for Korean Skaters". SkateToday.
  3. ^ "News - 2007 National Figure Competition". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  4. ^ a b "Ji Eun CHOI: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 9, 2007.
  5. ^ Junior Grand Prix Final Ladies Free Skating Scores, 2005 Archived October 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Ji Eun CHOI: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 26, 2006.
  7. ^ "Ji Eun CHOI: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005.
  8. ^ "Ji Eun CHOI: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 5, 2004.
  9. ^ "Ji Eun CHOI: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 4, 2003.
  10. ^ a b c "Competition Results: Ji Eun CHOI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 23, 2015.
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