Chinese figure skater
Chen Yudong (simplified Chinese: 陈昱东; traditional Chinese: 陳昱東; pinyin: Chén Yùdōng; born 28 September 2004) is a Chinese figure skater. He is the 2020 Cup of China bronze medalist, a three-time Chinese national champion (2022–24), and a two-time Chinese junior national champion (2020, 2022).
Personal life
Chen was born on September 28, 2004 in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, China. In addition to figure skating, he also enjoys singing and dancing.[1]
Career
Early career
Chen began figure skating in 2007. His first coach was Zhang Chunling.[2]
He debuted at the 2016 Chinese Championships, where he finished thirteenth.[3] Chen would go on to finish fourth at nationals in 2017 and 2018.[3]
Before debuting internationally, Chen would move to Beijing, where Li Wei became his coach.[4]
Junior career
2018–19 season: First Junior Worlds
For the 2018–19 figure skating season, Chen was sent to California to temporarily train under Rafael Arutyunyan.[5]
Making his international debut at the 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb, Chen won the silver medal on the junior level. He then went on to take bronze at the 2019 Russian–Chinese Youth Games.[3]
He was ultimately assigned to the 2019 Junior World Championships where he finished in twenty-fifth place after the short program and did not advance to the free skate.[6]
2019–20 season: Junior Grand Prix debut
Chen debuted in the Junior Grand Prix circuit and was assigned to the Courchevel[7] and Egna/Neumkart,[8] where he finished in ninth and sixth place, respectively.[9] He also took gold at the 2020 Chinese Junior Championships.[3]
He was then assigned to compete at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, where he finished in sixth place.[10]
Senior career
2020–21 season: Senior debut
With the 2020–21 figure skating season having to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, senior skaters were invited to a maximum of one Grand Prix event, based largely on geographic location.[11] Chen was invited to the 2020 Cup of China, where he finished in third place behind Jin Boyang and Yan Han.[12]
2021–22 season: Senior international debut
Chen began the season by competing at the 2021 Asian Open Trophy, where he finished ninth.[3]
Although assigned to compete at the 2021 Cup of China as his Grand Prix event of the season, the event was cancelled. He would ultimately be reassigned to its replacement event, the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia, where he finished in tenth place.[13]
2022–23 season
Chen, still being age-eligible for the junior grand prix circuit, was assigned to the Solidarity Cup 2022, where he finished in second place.[14]
Chen was assigned to compete in the junior and senior levels in the 2022 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy. He finished first at both levels.[15][16] Having met the minimum technical score requirements, Chen was entered to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships.
After winning his first national title at the 2022 Chinese Figure Skating Championships, he went on to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships, where he finished fifteenth.[3] At the 2023 World Junior Championships, he placed fourteenth after the short program, but had a strong free skate, finishing fifth in the segment and eighth overall.[17]
2023–24 season
Chen started the season by competing on the 2023–24 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, placing seventh at 2023 JGP Hungary. Going on to compete at 2023 JGP Poland, Chen placed fourth in the short program. During the free skate, Chen had a hard fall on the opening triple axel, seemingly injuring himself as he began limping after getting up. Despite this, Chen continued his free skate, making several mistakes throughout the program. He would place twenty-second in that competition segment and would drop to seventeenth place overall.[3][18]
At the 2023 Chinese Junior Championships, Chen won the silver medal behind Tian Tonghe but would go on to win gold at the senior-level championships. Going on to compete on the junior level of the 2024 Chinese National Winter Games.[3]
He would then close his season by finishing ninth at the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai.[9]
2024–25 season
In early October 2024, it was announced that Chen had left longtime coach, Li Wei and had started training under Dan Fang.[1]
He went on to start the season by finishing sixth at the 2024 Shanghai Trophy and eleventh at the 2024 Cup of China. One week later, Chen would win his third consecutive national title at the 2024 Chinese Championships.[3]
Programs
Competitive highlights
Detailed results
Senior level
Junior level
References
External links
