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 Young is the third child and only daughter of her father, You Il-jin, who ran a business in Indonesia, and mother, Lee Sook-hee. She moved to Indonesia at age two because of her father's business and spent her youth in Singapore. She enrolled in Bukit Timah primary school and attended school for a year before she returned to South Korea.
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, 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 six months 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.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
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 the novice level of the Cup of Tyrol.
2016–2017 season
In November 2016, You won the silver medal at the novice level of the Tallinn Trophy behind Alena Kanysheva of Russia.
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.[16]
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.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19][20] 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.[21]
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 the different competition requirements 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.[24] 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).
In February, You returned to the senior level for the 2020 Four Continents Championships. 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.[25] 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 under rotation 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 ChampionYuna Kim won the event in 2009.[26] She was assigned to make her senior World Championship debut in Montreal, but these were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.[27]
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 clear 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, she placed twelfth of twelve skaters in the segment.[28] She called it "a really weird performance" and attributed it to a failure of nerves.[29] You placed fifth in the free skate, landing the triple Axel this time, and rose to seventh place overall.[30]
In February, You competed at the 2021 South Korean Championships. She placed narrowly first in the short program despite under-rotation calls but fell twice in the free skate, including on her triple Axel attempt, and dropped to fourth place overall. As a result, she was not named to Korea's team for the 2021 World Championships.[31]
Beginning the Grand Prix at the 2021 Skate America, You placed fifth in the short program after falling on her triple Axel attempt. She landed her opening triple Axel in the free skate, albeit deemed a quarter short on rotation, and placed second in that segment despite a few other minor jump issues. She finished with the bronze medal overall, 0.34 behind silver medalist Daria Usacheva.[33][34] At her second event, the 2021 NHK Trophy, You failed to land her triple Axel in either segment, but still placed third in the short program and second in the free skate to take her second bronze medal of the Grand Prix season. She said afterwards that her goal for the season was "to just get to nationals with no injuries and take care of my body and, if I will do well, make it to the Olympics."[35]
You entered the 2022 South Korean Championships as the title favourite and placed first in both segments to win the gold medal. Her margin over the silver medalist Kim Ye-lim was 13.85 points.[36] She and Kim were named to the South Korean Olympic team, and sent to compete at the 2022 Four Continents Championships alongside bronze medalist Lee Hae-in. You struggled at the event in Tallinn, botching the triple Axel attempt in both segments and finishing sixth overall, behind both Lee and Kim.[37]
Competing at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, You started the women's event sixth in the short program, having her triple Axel downgraded and receiving an edge call on her flip. In her view, "things were not perfectly done, but I think overall it's good."[38][39] You placed fourth in the free skate despite underrotating her triple Axel but remained in sixth overall.[40] She later revealed that her father had died while she was competing at these Olympics and, as a result, declined the invitation to skate in the Olympic Gala.[8]
Shortly after the Olympics concluded, Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, as a result of which the International Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the 2022 World Championships. This had a major impact on the women's field, which had been dominated by Russians for most of the preceding eight years, and You entered the championships as a serious podium contender.[41] She opted not to attempt a triple Axel in the short program due to feeling uncertainty about it on the morning of, and performed a clean double Axel instead, albeit receiving quarter under rotation calls on two of her triple jumps. She finished fourth in the segment, 0.47 points behind third-place Mariah Bell of the United States.[42] In the free skate, You underrotated some jumps, including her opening triple Axel, singled a planned triple loop, and fell on a triple flip attempt. She dropped to fifth overall.[43]
2022–2023 season
You began her season by winning a silver medal at the 2022 U.S. Classic behind teammate Kim Ye-lim.[44] On the Grand Prix, she entered the 2022 Skate Canada International as one of the title favourites in the women's event, placing fourth in the short program after performing only a triple-double jump combination.[45] She underrotated three jumps in the free skate, also placing fourth in that segment, but won the bronze medal. She said afterward, "I didn't expect a medal today because my competition was not as good as usual. When the coach told me I was third, I was really surprised, and I am thankful to the crowd that they cheer me up even though the performance was not the best."[46][47]
During her second Grand Prix event, 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy, You came down with a high fever and considered withdrawing from the competition. Deciding to compete but not fully recovered, You placed sixth in the short program after performing a triple-double combination rather than a scheduled triple-triple. She managed to skate a solid free program, however, placing third in that segment of the competition after completing six clean triple jumps and moving up to fourth-place overall. For her exhibition program at the event, she skated to "Like My Father" by Jax, which was dedicated to her father, who had passed earlier that year.[48][8]
At the 2023 Challenge Cup, You placed thirteenth in the short program after falling on a planned triple flip and failing to perform a jump combination. However, she managed to skate a clean free skate that included five triple jumps, placing fifth in that segment of the competition and moving up to sixth-place overall.[52][53]
In April, You ended collaborations with two of her coaches, Hamada and Pfeifer, and listed Chi has her primary coach.[54]
You finished fifth at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial to begin the season. Appearing on the 2023-24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, she was eleventh of twelve skaters at the 2023 Skate America.[44] At her second assignment, the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo, You placed eighth. She said afterward that she and her new coaches would be working to improve her jumps and stamina, and expressed thanks to "my fans that they are waiting for me to come back and are giving me all the time I need!"[55]
You's championship result earned her a berth on the Korean team for the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, where she came fifth in the short program, her strongest result of the season. The free skate proved more difficult, and errors dropped her to twelfth overall. You reflected that it "was a little difficult and tiring at the beginning of the season, but I would like to praise myself for holding on until the end." She vowed to focus on fully recovering from an ankle injury before preparing for the next season.[57]
^Kim, Hyun-jin (March 23, 2024). "피겨 김채연, 세계선수권 동메달 획득 ... "정말 새롭고 기쁜 경험"" [Figure skater Kim Chae-yeon wins bronze medal at World Championships... "A truly new and enjoyable experience"]. mfocus.kr (in Korean). Retrieved April 7, 2024.
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