Clare Seo or Seo Hee-won (Korean: 서희원; born October 17, 2006) is an American figure skater. Competing for the United States, she is the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy bronze medalist, 2021 JGP France I bronze medalist, and the 2022 U.S. junior national champion. She has placed within the top ten at two World Junior Championships, finishing sixth in 2022 and eighth in 2023.
| Clare Seo | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 서희원 (Korean) |
| Other names | Seo Hee-won Heewon Seo |
| Born | October 17, 2006 Claremont, California, U.S |
| Hometown | Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S |
| Height | 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) |
| Figure skating career | |
| Country |  United States |
| Coach | Eddie Shipstad |
| Skating club | Broadmoor Skating Club |
| Began skating | 2010 |
Seo is also the 2020 South Korean junior national champion.
Personal life
editSeo was born on October 17, 2006, in Claremont, California, to Korean parents who were studying in the United States at the time. The family returned to South Korea when Seo was five years old and remained there until 2020, after which Seo moved back to the U.S. with her mother and her younger sister, Clara.[1] As of 2022, she is a student at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[2] She intends to pursue a career in sports psychology once she retires from competitive skating.[3]
Career
editEarly years
editSeo began learning to skate in 2010.[4] She won gold in the junior women's event at the 2020 South Korean Championships. She was the junior women's bronze medalist at the 2021 U.S. Championships.
2021–22 season: U.S. junior national champion
editSeo made her junior international debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in August at the 2021 JGP France I, the first of two JGP events held in Courchevel, France. She placed first in the short program, but fell to fourth in the free skate to finish third overall behind compatriot Lindsay Thorngren and Canadian competitor Kaiya Ruiter.[5] At her second JGP assignment, the 2021 JGP Poland held in September, Seo was third in the short program and, again, fourth in the free skate to finish just off the podium in fourth overall.[6]
Seo did not compete again until January, when she won the junior national title at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, besting domestic rivals Ava Ziegler, Josephine Lee, and Katie Shen. Due to her placement at junior nationals, Seo was named to the American team for the 2022 World Junior Figure Skating Championships alongside Isabeau Levito and Lindsay Thorngren, both of whom competed at the senior level at nationals.[7]
At Junior Worlds in April, Seo was 10th in the short program, but climbed to fifth in the free skate to finish sixth overall.[8]
2022–23 season
editSeo opened her season back in Courchevel, France at the 2022 JGP France in late August. She placed fifth in both the short program and free skating segments of the competition, and finished fifth overall.[9] At Seo's second Grand Prix event, 2022 JGP Poland, she finished in eighth place after placing tenth in the short program and ninth in the free skate.[10]
Making her international senior debut at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge, Seo finished sixteenth in the short program after falling on two jump elements, but rebounded with a fourth-place free skate and finished eighth overall.[11] Also competing as a senior, she finished seventh at the 2023 U.S. Championships. She was assigned to the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, where she placed eighth, the highest placement of the three American girls at the event.
2023–24 season
editSeo began the season with a seventh-place finish at the 2023 Cranberry Cup International, before going on to win the bronze medal at the 2023 CS Budapest Trophy.[12] Invited to make her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Skate America, she came tenth.[13]
At the 2024 U.S. Championships, Seo placed third in the short program but sixth in the free skate, dropping to eighth place overall.[14]
2024–25 season
editSeo started the season by finishing eighth at the 2024 CS Cranberry Cup International.[12]
Programs
editCompetitive highlights
editGP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix.
For the United States
edit| International [12] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 |
| GP Skate America | 10th | ||||
| CS Budapest Trophy | 3rd | ||||
| CS Cranberry Cup | 7th | 8th | |||
| CS Ice Challenge | 8th | ||||
| CS Warsaw Cup | TBD | ||||
| International: Junior [12] | |||||
| Junior Worlds | 6th | 8th | |||
| JGP France | 3rd | 5th | |||
| JGP Poland | 4th | 8th | |||
| National[3] | |||||
| U.S. Championships | 3rd J | 1st J | 7th | 5th | |
For South Korea
edit| National | |
|---|---|
| Event | 19–20 |
| South Korean Championships | 1st J |
Detailed results
edit| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | TSS | 182.81 | 2022 Junior Worlds |
| Short program | TSS | 63.43 | 2021 JGP France I |
| TES | 36.60 | 2021 JGP France I | |
| PCS | 29.46 | 2023 CS Budapest Trophy | |
| Free skating | TSS | 122.20 | 2022 Junior Worlds |
| TES | 66.83 | 2022 Junior Worlds | |
| PCS | 58.34 | 2023 CS Budapest Trophy |
Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.
Senior results
edit| 2024–2025 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 8–11, 2024 | 2024 CS Cranberry Cup International | 6 56.92 |
9 90.74 |
8 147.66 |
| 2023–2024 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 22–28, 2024 | 2024 U.S. Championships | 3 67.41 |
6 120.15 |
5 187.56 |
| October 20–22, 2023 | 2023 Skate America | 11 58.14 |
10 105.63 |
10 163.77 |
| October 13–15, 2023 | 2023 CS Budapest Trophy | 2 63.55 |
4 108.59 |
3 171.94 |
| August 9–13, 2023 | 2023 Cranberry Cup International | 4 56.48 |
9 91.99 |
7 148.47 |
| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 23–29, 2023 | 2023 U.S. Championships | 7 61.48 |
9 114.12 |
7 175.60 |
| November 9–13, 2022 | 2022 CS Ice Challenge | 16 46.73 |
4 111.76 |
8 158.49 |
Junior results
edit| 2022–23 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 27–March 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | 9 58.41 |
9 114.21 |
8 172.62 |
| September 28–October 1, 2022 | 2022 JGP Poland I | 10 57.23 |
9 113.10 |
8 170.33 |
| August 24–27, 2022 | 2022 JGP France | 5 54.23 |
5 114.11 |
5 168.34 |
| 2021–22 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| April 13–17, 2022 | 2022 World Junior Championships | 10 60.61 |
5 122.20 |
6 182.81 |
| January 3–9, 2022 | 2022 U. S. Junior Championships | 1 67.38 |
2 118.15 |
1 185.53 |
| October 11–16, 2021 | 2021 USCS Nevada | 2 57.04 |
2 122.80 |
1 179.84 |
| August 29–September 2, 2021 | 2021 JGP Poland | 2 62.19 |
4 112.67 |
4 174.86 |
| August 18–21, 2021 | 2021 JGP France I | 1 63.43 |
4 111.37 |
3 174.80 |
| 2020–21 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 11–21, 2021 | 2021 U. S. Junior Championships | 3 60.27 |
3 113.24 |
3 173.51 |
| 2019–20 season | ||||
| Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
| January 3–5, 2020 | 2020 South Korean Junior Championships | 1 54.59 |
1 102.47 |
1 157.06 |
References
edit- ^ Feigenbaum, Paige (April 12, 2022). "U.S. Junior Champion Clare Seo Sets Sights on Clean Routines at World Junior Championships". U.S. Figure Skating.
- ^ a b Martinez, Jillian L. (August 17, 2022). "Clare Seo Preparing for Senior Level". U.S. Figure Skating.
- ^ a b c d "2022–23 Figure Skating Roster: Clare Seo". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023.
- ^ a b "Clare SEO: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023.
- ^ "2021 JGP Gdansk Women Results". ISU. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "2021 JGP Courchevel Women Results". ISU. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "Junior Ladies Results". U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Junior Worlds Women Results". ISU. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "2022 JGP Courchevel Women Results". ISU. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "2022 JGP Gdansk Women Results". ISU Results. ISU. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "2022 CS Ice Challenge". International Skating Union. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Clare SEO: Competition Results". International Skating Union. August 25, 2022.
- ^ Slater, Paula (October 23, 2023). "Belgium's Hendrickx clear winner at Skate America". Golden Skate. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- ^ a b "USA-Clare SEO". SkatingScores.
- ^ "Clare SEO: 2024/2025". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on August 22, 2024.
- ^ "Clare SEO: 2023/2024". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023.
- ^ "Clare SEO: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022.
External links
edit- Clare SEO at the International Skating Union
- Clare Seo at SkatingScores.com
- Clare Seo at U.S. Figure Skating
- Clare Seo on Instagram