⛸️ This Week's Figure Skating Highlights! - 2026.05.17 | Figure Skating

Hello, figure skating fans! It's Figure Lover ⛸️✨

This week was full of colorful news both on and off the ice. From exciting new season preparations to surprise announcements, let's dive right in!

1. Cha Jun-hwan's 'Fantasy on Ice' Collab with Sung Si-kyung & Stunning Visuals at Jewelry Event 💎

Our Cha Jun-hwan will appear at 'Fantasy on Ice 2026' in Makuhari, Japan on May 30th and 31st! He will perform to the live singing of singer Sung Si-kyung ^[1]. He is scheduled to show a lyrical skating routine to 'Every Moment of You', an OST from the drama 'My Love from the Star', so it's already guaranteed to be a treat for both the ears and eyes ^[2]. Moreover, on the 12th, he attended the Bulgari High Jewelry event and showed off his statue-like beauty off the ice ^[3]. He was the Ice Prince himself! ^[4]

2. Lee Hae-in's New Season Short Program Choreo by Benoit Richaud! 🇺🇸

Lee Hae-in, who showed a great performance by entering the Top 10 at the Milano Olympics earlier this year, is already busy preparing for the next season ^[5]. She went to New Jersey, USA, and received a new short program choreography from the famous choreographer Benoit Richaud ^[6]. Tailored to Lee Hae-in's preference for step sequences, it includes many large movements ^[7]. Her goal for the next season is to win a Senior Grand Prix medal and advance to the Final, so let's all cheer her on! ^[5]

3. Kaori Sakamoto's Surprise Marriage Announcement at Retirement Press Conference 💍

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto, who surprised everyone with her retirement announcement last week, made a surprise marriage announcement at her retirement press conference on the 13th! ^[8] She registered her marriage on May 5th with a non-celebrity of the same age whom she met in college ^[9]. Her husband even came to the Milano Olympics to cheer for her in person ^[8]. Leaving the ice with a monumental record of winning the World Championships 4 times, we wish Sakamoto happiness in the new chapter of her life! ^[9]

4. Ilia Malinin Considering First Break of His Career? 🛌

'Jump Machine' Ilia Malinin, who achieved his 3rd consecutive World Championship title, revealed that he might take a break next season ^[10]. He struggled with immense pressure and expectations during the Milano Olympics, resulting in a disappointing 8th place finish in the singles ^[10]. In a recent interview, he shared his honest feelings, saying, "I want to step away from skating for a while. I might take half a season off" ^[10]. We hope he can properly recover his body and mind exhausted from Olympic preparations!

5. Rio Nakata Aims for 'Quadruple Axel' Ahead of Senior Debut 🔥

Japan's rising star Rio Nakata, a two-time Junior World Champion, will finally make his senior debut next season ^[11]. However, during his senior debut preparations, he revealed that his goal is to successfully land a 'Quadruple Axel (4.5 rotations)'! ^[11] He expressed his bold ambition to become the second skater to successfully land a Quadruple Axel after Malinin, so let's look forward to seeing if he can pull it off in actual competition ^[11].

That's all for this week's news! I'll be back next week packed with more interesting news to make figure skating fans' hearts race. Bye~ 👋