Seo Min-kyu earns come-from-behind gold in JGP

South Korean figure skater Seo Min-kyu won gold in the first international competition he had joined this season. This rising star earned 224.78 points in men’s singles, ranking first among 30 participants in the second 2024–25 ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) that ended on Saturday. He ranked third with 77.08 points in the short program the previous day. However, he gained 147.70 points in free skating on Saturday, coming from behind to surpass Patrick Blackwell of the United States by 3.22 points.

Following last season’s third JGP, he garnered his second JGP gold on Saturday. He has been considered one of the most promising athletes who can excel Cha Jun-hwan, the “Prince of Figure Skating,” since he conquered men’s singles in the ISU Junior World Figure Skating Championships, becoming the first male South Korean skater to win the title. Seo is gearing up to earn the title at the JGP Final this season as the first male South Korean athlete.

Each athlete can participate up to twice among eight JGP competitions this season. The top six athletes for each event are selected based on their JGP records to join the JGP Final in Grenoble, France in December. Seo is scheduled to compete in this season’s fifth JGP starting Sept. 26 in Gdansk, Poland, to make it to his first JGP Final.


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com