Chaeyeon Kim wins Four Continents title on home ice
2025 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships: Women
Chaeyeon Kim of the Republic of Korea dominated the Women’s event at the 2025 Four Continents Championships to win the title on home ice in Seoul. USA’s Bradie Tennell rose three spots to snatch the silver, while teammate Sarah Everhardt pocketed the bronze.
Chaeyeon Kim
Kim gave a very strong performance in her short program to music from Tron: Legacy. She produced a double Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and triple flip. All jumps received positive grades of execution (GOE), as did her level-four spins and footwork. The 2024 Four Continents silver medalist scored 74.02, improving her personal best from this event two years ago where she was fourth.
The 18-year-old admitted to feeling nervous performing in her hometown but was glad to get a “great score.”
The skater is just coming off a win from the 9th Asian Winter Games.
“I took some vitamins and was drinking Pocari Sweat during the week,” shared the 18-year-old. “I feel better than the day after I arrived from China. My goal is to maintain this body condition and perform my best in the upcoming free skating.”
The 2024 World bronze medalist gave another impeccable performance in her free skate “Whisperers from the Heart” and “Love Dance.” Her routine featured a total of seven solid triple jumps, including a triple flip and triple Lutz combination. She also landed a triple Lutz-double Axel sequence and showcased superb level-four spins and footwork throughout. She placed first in the free skate and overall with two new personal best scores (148.36/222.38), winning the title with 18 points to spare.
“I was a little nervous because I wanted to show my best for the home crowd and I am glad I was able to do that,” Kim reflected. “I wasn’t feeling well until this morning, so I was worried about the performance. Fortunately, it turned out very well and I’m very satisfied about the result. I tried to get some confidence based on what I’ve accomplished in Asian Winter Games.”
She was also very happy as the result was unexpected for the skater, who was fighting cramps in her left leg in the second half of her performance.
“I tried my best to focus on the spin components,” said Kim. “I didn’t want to make any mistakes on spins after completing all jumps perfectly.”
Moving forward, her primary goal is to get a spot on the team for the upcoming Olympics next season.
“I’ve got a great result from last season’s Worlds, so I’m looking forward to get higher scores in both programs this time,” she said. “Today I had some hiccups on my spin, and the quality of the jumps didn’t turn out as well as I practiced. So for Worlds, I’ll be working on these parts to get higher scores.”
Bradie Tennell
Tennell underrotated the second half of her opening triple Lutz-triple toe in her short program to Lord of the Dance but was otherwise solid. The double Axel and triple loop were clean, and she earned a level four on two spins to place fifth (66.58).
“I feel really good,” said the two-time U.S. national champion. “I’m very happy with that. There were just a couple of very tiny, small errors that are a bit annoying but overall, I’m pretty happy with it. I think I was a bit nervous beforehand. To come here after everything this season and put out a solid performance, I think I can be proud of that.”
The skater, who broke her ankle last year, just made a return to competition earlier this month at 2024 Shanghai Trophy where she took silver. This is her first Grand Prix since 2022 Grand Prix Espoo after missing the majority of the 2023-24 season.
“There’s always like the occasional little things,” Tennell said of her injuries. “I had a strain in my hip for nationals so that was very painful. It’s not totally better now but it’s much better than it was. So that’s been a struggle for a while, but not as bad as having a broken ankle of course. So those things pop up and we just deal with them as best we can. And there have been a lot of ups and downs this season, but for myself, I think I can be proud of the way that I’ve handled it all.”
The 2020 Four Continents bronze medalist gave a spectacular and passionate free skate to Turandot. She landed a total of six clean triple jump with the only glitch being a slightly underrotated triple toe on the back end of a triple Lutz. Two spins were graded a level four, and she placed second with a new season’s best of 137.80. With a total score of 204.38, she rose three spots to win the silver.
“I’m so like elated,” said the 27-year-old of her performance. “This season has been really rough. I feel like every competition, I’ve either done a good short or a good long, so it was wonderful to put them together the way
that I was able to before I was injured. And I really just I went out there today. I was just enjoyed being here again at Four Continents and in this arena. I feel like a whole new person. There’s so much that happened in my life and in my career, so it was really wonderful to add another experience to the wonderful memories that I have this place.”
There was a moment that stood out for the skater in her free skate during the step sequence.
“I don’t know what happened there, but I was like, ‘oh crap,'” she said. “I made up some choreography really quickly and just kept going and I was really happy with the way I was able to recover from that. All I could think about for like a split second was Benoit (Richaud) saying that he wanted my step sequence to be deep in the knees and clean and I thought, ‘oh that wasn’t clean.’ I thought, ‘okay just make the rest of the program clean and he’ll be happy,’ and I think I did that. Element by element, I just I go through and sometimes I have to remind myself to breathe.”
Sarah Everhardt
Skating to “Reel Around the Sun” from Riverdance, Everhardt entertained the audience with a strong short program. She landed a triple toe-triple toe, double Axel and triple Lutz. All three spins were graded a level four and she posted 67.36 points for third place.
“It’s still pretty big,” said Everhardt of her debut at this event. “I see all the best skaters in the world and I’m a fan girl a little bit. It’s new to me, but it’s a learning experience going in these competitions and learning how things work.”
The 2025 U.S. bronze medalist showed lots of confidence and focus in her free skate to The Firebird. The only two glitches were a slightly underrotated triple toe and triple flip. In all, she landed a total of five solid triple jumps, including a triple Lutz-double toe-double loop. Two spins were graded a level four, and she posted 132.67 for third place in this segment. With a total score of 200.03, she maintained third place overall in her debut at this event.
“It was a good fight,” said the 18-year-old. “I’m glad I was able to do it, I was feeling very nervous up to the program, so I’m glad I was able to put out a good fight.”
Everhardt said she felt confident coming into this competition and that her practices felt good.
“It’s my first ISU championship,” she pointed out. “It’s a fun experience being in a big event, learning from the event and learning how things work. I’m glad I was able to fight and show a good performance here. I’m happy that I’m able to end the season on a high note and skate well here. I’m also excited to go back home and try new elements, try the triple Axel, quad toe and kind of enjoy the off season learning new things. I want to work on my component side of skating to improve that and overall, just work on things and make them better so I’m competitive with everyone.”
Alysa Liu
USA’s Alysa Liu finished fourth (67.09) in the short program after a good performance to “Promise” by Laufey. The only glitch was an underrotated triple toe in combination with a triple flip. The double Axel and triple Lutz were solid, and she picked up a level four on two spins.
“It felt pretty good,” said Liu. “It’s always really weird being back to competition, because it doesn’t feel nervous at all, which has its pros and cons. Adrenaline boosted, still it felt very calm today. I really enjoyed it, and I love the crowd. The crowd here is really good, so shout out to them!”
“Being here in Seoul is really amazing,” she said of her debut at this event. “I’ve never been here; it’s my first time. Making new memories is really awesome.”
The two-time U.S. champion said she didn’t plan on doing a triple Axel in the free skate but might practice it if she’s feeling it.
The 2022 World bronze medalist exuded joy in her energetic free skate to Donna Summer’s “MacArthur Park,” placing fourth with a new season’s best of 131.46. However, she received an edge call on both triple flip jumps while both triple Lutz jumps were deemed slightly underrotated. She also doubled a Salchow, but two spins garnered a level four, and she maintained fourth place overall (198.55).
“I feel really good,” said the 19-year-old. “Actually, I wish I did a triple Salchow like I planned, but it’s okay. I really liked my performance. The performance was perfect for today, in my opinion. It felt the best I feel like I gave. This one was so much more enjoyable.”
“It’s been so hard this season,” she added. “I mean, of course, this was really hard to get through to, but it felt a lot lighter, and I could actually move through it with enjoyment.”
Wakaba Higuchi
Skating to her short program to music from Dune, Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi opened with a strong double Axel, but then stepped out of a triple Lutz, not adding the triple toe. She received an edge call on the front end of a triple flip-triple toe, while the latter jump was deemed slightly underrotated. However, all spins and footwork were awarded a level four, and the 2018 World silver medalist finished seventh (65.10) going into the free skate.
“There were mistakes I had that I didn’t even have during the practice,” noted the 24-year-old. “And that was a little disappointing. However, I did the combination with the flip. That was good. The reason for the mistake on the Lutz is probably due to not being straight or I may have jumped too high.”
“I was really into this competition,” Higuchi continued. “I tried really hard to make no mistakes in my program. And due to that, I was able to achieve all the levels, but my goal is to get GOE. For today, my goal was to get 65 points, and I was able to get that.”
Higuchi received a “q” on the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe as well as a triple Salchow in her free skate to “Nature Boy” and “Running Up that Hill.” She also took a fall on a triple Lutz and received an edge call on a triple flip. However, all spins and footwork were rewarded with a level four and positive GOEs. The 2024 Skate America champion placed fifth (130.06) in this segment and moved up to fifth place overall (195.16).
“The practice I had this morning was not that great,” Higuchi shared. “And it was the same for six-minute warm up. And after I fell after the Lutz, I had to calculate a lot because I had to have two combinations. For the jump, my body worked really well. And I was able to do the triple-triple. But I stepped out of the jump, which I regret. I think thanks to the poor performance I did during my practice, I was able to do quite well in my performance.”
Mone Chiba
Mone Chiba slightly underrotated the back end of a triple Lutz-triple toe as well as triple flip in the short program to “Last Dance” by Donna Summer. However, it was still a great performance and featured a good double Axel as well as level-four spins and footwork. The defending champion placed second with 71.20 points, a mere 0.49 points from her personal best.
“I totally recognized that my performance wasn’t at 100%,” said the 19-year-old. “ I was more nervous than I realized during the performance. My feet felt weaker, so I had to fight with that nervousness, and I tried to balance that throughout the performance. And as soon as my performance ended, I felt like my tension broke.”
“Although I felt pretty well during my practice, I became really nervous before the short program,” Chiba added. “And before the triple-triple, I was thinking that it’s going pretty well, but my combination jump didn’t work well. And for the flip, the nervousness took over, and when I got off the ice, I could analyze my performance with a calm mindset.”
Chiba had a good start in her classical free skate, but lost momentum and drive after taking a fall on a triple Salchow. She landed two triple Lutz combinations, but later underrotated and fell on a triple flip. The 2024-25 Grand Prix Final silver medalist placed seventh (123.88) in this segment and slipped to off the podium to sixth place overall (195.08).
“Despite not feeling well, I gave all my energy into my program,” said Chiba. “And I think the things I experienced today were really valuable for me. And every time I talked about the environment and my condition, I said it’s best. But today, I was unexpectedly sick. I haven’t been thinking about me being unwell, so what I had to do was just perform. So I mean, it was really valuable for me to perform in this situation, and I think I was able to learn a lot from that.”
Sofia Samodelkina
Sofia Samodelkina of Kazakhstan, who stood in eighth (63.98) after the short program, placed sixth in the free skate with a new season’s best of 129.39 points. She showed good ice coverage and transitions in her free skate to “Ava Maria” and “Stranger,” which featured five clean triple jumps. The only mistakes were an edge call on both triple Lutz jumps, but she produced two level-four spins. She moved up to seventh place overall (193.37).
“I feel good,” said the 18-year-old. “I think I skated better than in previous times, so I’m satisfied. I’m glad that two important competitions have come to an end. Now there will be a short break, and then back to work for the World Championships. I want to work on everything, but especially the cleanliness of the programs. It’s already become easier than in the beginning of the season. That’s already a big plus. Now I want to polish everything. Maybe we’ll add something new, but don’t know yet. We’ll work on it.”
Haein Lee of the Republic of Korea, who stood in 10th after the short, moved up to eighth place overall (183.10). Japan’s Ahsun Yun finished ninth (182.68) followed by Canada’s Sara-Maude Dupuis (178.36).
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