Cha worked as a child actor, model, and ballet dancer before becoming a skater.[7][8] He has since participated in public campaigns[9][10] and endorsed commercial products such as clothing,[11] healthcare,[12] and cosmetics.[13] Also, he has modeled for multiple magazines such as Vogue Korea,[14]Elle Korea,[15]Men's Health Korea,[16]W Korea,[17] and Arena Homme Korea.[18] Cha appeared on several shows and programs, including the music variety television show King of Mask Singer in June 2020,[19] and the music festival SBS Gayo Daejeon, where he performed a cover dance on the stage and made a special appearance as a guest MC in December 2022.[20]
Cha began skating at the age of seven[24] at a public rink near his house during a school excursion and liked the "wind when [he] was skating."[5] His first coach was former South Korean Olympic competitor Shin Hea-sook,[8] and his skating idols were Evgeni Plushenko and Daisuke Takahashi.[25]
In the 2016–17 season, Cha made his Junior Grand Prix debut at the JGP Japan. He performed a clean short program except for his flying camel spin, which got a level 2. He received 79.34 points, which put him in second place. In the free program, he skated cleanly except for an under-rotation on his triple Salchow. He was the last skater in the free skate, placing first by scoring another personal best of 160.13 points, and set a new world record of 239.47 points for junior men's combined total score.[29] He won a second gold medal at the 2016 JGP Germany, which qualified him for the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final, where he won the bronze medal.[26] Cha won his first national title in January 2017 at the South Korean Championships.[30][31] He finished fifth at the 2017 World Junior Championships.[26]
Cha had to overcome injuries and boot problems to win his second national title in January 2018 at the South Korean Championships.[32] Having accumulated the highest point total across the three qualifying events, Cha was selected to represent South Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he placed fifteenth as the youngest competitor in the men's event.[33]
2018–19 season: Grand Prix Final bronze
Cha began his season by winning the silver medal at the 2018 Autumn Classic, after placing second in the short program with 90.56 points and first in the free skate with 169.22, ahead of training mate Yuzuru Hanyu.[34] He won the silver medal at the 2018 Finlandia Trophy with a total score of 239.19 points, behind Mikhail Kolyada.[35]
At his first Grand Prixassignment, the 2018 Skate Canada, he placed third in the short program and third in the free skate to win the bronze medal overall, landing two clean quadruple salchows across both segments of the competition. With this finish, Cha became the second-ever South Korean figure skater to win a Grand Prix medal, after Yuna Kim, and the first-ever South Korean man to make the podium at a Grand Prix.[36] Cha then won a second bronze medal at 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki with a total of 243.19 points,[37] making him the first-ever South Korean man to win two medals on the Grand Prix series. These two bronze medals qualified him for the 2018 Grand Prix Final, making him the first South Korean man to do so and the first from his country since Kim.[38]
Cha concluded the Grand Prix series at the final, placing fourth in the short program and third in the free skate, with a season's best of 174.42 in the free skate and 263.49 for his total score. This put him on the podium in third place, earning him the bronze medal. He is the first South Korean man to win a Grand Prix Final medal and the second-ever South Korean skater to do so since Kim.[38] After winning this third consecutive South Korean national title, Cha competed at the 2019 Four Continents Championships. He placed second in the short program, winning a small silver medal.[39] He struggled in the free skate, where six of his jumps were called underrotated. He placed eighth in the free skate and dropped to sixth place overall.[26] He concluded his season at the 2019 World Figure Skating Championships. He placed eighteenth in both the short program and free skate to finish nineteenth overall.[26]
2019–20 season: Fourth South Korean national title
Beginning the season at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International, Cha attempted the quad flip in competition for the first time. Cha was fourth overall in the competition after several jumps were called underrotated.[40] At his first Grand Prix assignment, 2019 Skate America, Cha doubled his planned quad in the short program placing seventh.[41] Multiple falls in the free skate dropped him to eighth overall.[42] Cha was sixth at the 2019 Cup of China.[43] After winning another South Korean national title, Cha competed at the 2020 Four Continents Championships, held in Seoul. He earned a season's best in the short program despite underrotating his triple Axel attempt.[44] In the free skate, four of his jumps were called underrotated, which was sufficient to keep him off the podium at the event.[45] Cha was assigned to represent South Korea at 2020 World Championships but the competition was cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.[46]
2020–21 season
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted long-term changes to Cha's training situation as he could no longer reside in Canada, where he had trained since 2015.[47] Cha was assigned to compete at the 2020 Skate Canada International, but the event was also cancelled as a result of the pandemic.[48] Cha's first event of the season was the 2021 South Korean Championships, where he won his fifth consecutive title. He was assigned to Korea's lone men's berth at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm.[49] Cha placed eighth in the short program.[50] Errors in the free skate had him place thirteenth in that segment, but he held tenth overall.[51] Cha's result qualified one berth for Korea at the 2022 Winter Olympics, with the possibility of a second to be earned later.[52]
2021–22 season: Four Continents champion and Beijing Olympics
Cha's first competition of the season was the Olympic test event, the 2021 Asian Open in Beijing, where he placed sixth.[26] His first Grand Prix assignment was initially the 2021 Cup of China, but following its cancellation he was reassigned to the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia in Turin.[53] Third in the short program, he dropped to fifth overall after a sixth-place free skate.[54] At this second Grand Prix, 2021 NHK Trophy, he was third in the short program and fifth in the free skate. However, despite his fifth-place free, he remained in third overall, taking the bronze medal.[55] Cha pronounced himself "happy but also disappointed because I had a lot of mistakes, I really fought through."[56] After winning his sixth South Korean national title, Cha was named to the South Korean Olympic team.[26] Sent to compete at the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, Cha placed first in both segments to take the gold medal, becoming the first South Korean man to win and medal at the Four Continents.[57][58] He said afterward that "when coming here, I was not thinking about medals or winning this competition, just training and just doing what I trained before. It was pretty tough to solve all the elements during my practice sessions, but finally, I got the medal, and I'm very satisfied with this."[59]
Competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the men's event, Cha skated a clean short program to place fourth in that segment with a new personal best of 99.51. He admitted to nervousness beforehand due to concerns about results but said that "despite my nervousness, I, trusting my own competence, managed to finish this program as I did in my training."[60] Cha opened his free skate with a hard fall on the quad toe loop but recovered to execute the rest of the program, placing seventh in that segment and finishing fifth overall.[61] Cha concluded his season at the 2022 World Championships in a men's field considerably more open than usual due to the absences of Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu and the International Skating Union banning all Russian athletes due to their country's invasion of Ukraine.[62] He placed seventeenth in the short program but subsequently withdrew before the free skate due to boot problems.[26]
Following the end of the Beijing Olympic cycle, Cha said he wanted to break his habit of using "rather classical music" and instead ", I wanted to show a different side of my character and reinvent myself on the ice. I wanted something modern, with vocals." He and choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne chose the music of Michael Jackson for the short program while the free skate used the soundtrack of the James Bond film No Time to Die, which he cited as one of his favorites. Cha opted to begin the season with back-to-back events on the Challenger series, citing a desire for "motivation for myself to improve as quickly as possible." He won silver at the 2022 CS Nepela Memorial and then gold at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy on the following weekend.[47]
Cha's first Grand Prix assignment of the year was the 2022 Skate America, where he won the bronze medal. He said the result was "not perfect, and it was not what I wanted, but I tried hard, and I'm quite satisfied."[63] At this second event, the 2022 NHK Trophy, he finished sixth in the short program after two jumping errors.[64] He rallied in the free skate, finishing second in that segment and rising to third overall for his second bronze medal of the series. He expressed pleasure at the result after disappointment on the previous day.[65][66]
After winning a seventh consecutive national title, Cha competed at the 2023 Four Continents Championships and finished fifth in the short program after falling on his jump combination and having his triple Axel called on the quarter.[67][68] A strong free skate lifted him to fourth overall.[69][70]
At the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Cha skated a clean short program and placed third in the segment with a new personal best score of 99.64. He noted that he had been struggling in recent seasons, but was "happy" that his recent training had paid dividends.[71] Cha finished second in the free skate, rising to second overall and winning the silver medal.[72] In doing so, he became the first South Korean male skater in history to reach the podium at the World Championships.[73] A month later, Cha participated in the 2023 World Team Trophy, for which South Korea had qualified for the first time in the history of the event. Cha set a new personal best in the short program, coming second in the segment, and then won the free skate, helping the Korean team win the silver medal.[74]
In June 2023, Brian Orser announced during an interview with Yahoo! Japan that Cha made the decision to end their coaching relationship so that he could train in South Korea full-time.[75][76] Regarding the change, Cha later elaborated, "I worked with Brian for so long time; we know each other so much. Since Covid, everything changed. It was quite hard to train with Brian [because] we just always [only] met at competitions."[77] Orser further stated that he wished Cha all the best and that he would be open to working with him again should he desire.[78]
Cha came sixth at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial in his first competitive appearance of the season, before winning the silver medal at the Shanghai Trophy.[26] He began the Grand Prix at the 2023 Skate Canada International, placing second in the short program despite a fall on his quad toe loop. However, an error-filled performance in the free skate saw him eleventh in that segment, dropping to ninth overall.[79][80] Cha subsequently revealed that he was dealing with a right ankle injury, and in consequence he withdrew from the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo. Despite continuing issues, he planned to participate in the Korean national ranking competition in order to maintain his eligibility for international assignments.[81] He resumed training a week before the ranking competition, and with the use of painkillers was able to compete at and win the event, saying afterward that he would focus on recuperating the nerve injury to his ankle.[82]
After another national gold medal at the South Korean Championships, Cha won the bronze medal at the 2024 Four Continents Championships, including a second-place finish in the free skate. He said afterward that his health was "improving," but that he would continue to work to balance recovery and training.[83] Cha came tenth at the 2024 World Championships. He competed despite his ongoing injury difficulties, but concluded that with the season over "I can take a rest and I think everything will be fine."[84]
Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Cha placed fourth in the short program at 2024 Skate Canada International but second in the free skate, moving up to the bronze medal position overall.[85] At the 2024 Finlandia Trophy, Cha placed seventh in the short program after falling on his opening quadruple Salchow. He withdrew from the competition before the free skate morning practice due to the worsening ankle pain, as the injury he sustained during the previous season has not yet fully healed. As there are many more international competitions ahead of him this season, Cha stated he would focus on treating his injury, which was aggravated further during the recent boot replacement process, before the upcoming Annual Korean Ranking Competition, which determines the National Athlete Team membership while also serving as the selection process for the skaters who will participate in the Four Continents Championships for South Korea.[88][89]
The first and currently the only South Korean skater to break the 100-point mark in the short program in an international competition (2023 World Team Trophy)
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