You Young
You at2019 Skate Canada
Native name	유영
Born	(2004-05-27)May 27, 2004 (age 20) Seoul, South Korea[1]
Height	1.67 m (5 ft5+1⁄2 in)[2]
Figure skating career
Country	South Korea
Coach	Shin Hea-sook
Skating club	Korean Skating Union
Began skating	2010
Medal record Representing South Korea Figure skating:Ladies' singles Four Continents Championships 2020 Seoul Ladies' Singles Winter Youth Olympics 2020 Lausanne Ladies' singles

You Young (Korean: 유영; born May 27, 2004) is a South Koreanfigure skater. She is the2020 Four Continents silver medalist, a four-timeGrand Prix bronze medalist, a four-timeChallenger series medalist, and a five-timeSouth Korean national champion (2016,2018,2019,2020,2022.)

On the junior level, she is the2020 Youth Olympic champion, the 2018JGP Slovakia bronze medalist, and the 2019 Winter Children of Asia International Sports Games champion.

You is the youngest ever national champion of South Korea at age 11 in 2016. She is also the firstKorean woman to successfully land atriple Axel in an international competition and the firstAsian woman to win the gold medal inFigure skating at theWinter Youth Olympics.She currently holds thefourth highest technical element score in theshort program (45.54 at the2019 Skate Canada) and the ninth highest technical element score in thefree skate (79.94 at the2020 Four Continents). She remains the first and only female skater to have landed the triple Axel at theYouth Olympics.

Competing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, You placed 5th overall.^[6] As of April 17, 2022, You is the 4th highest rankedwomen's singles skater in world by theInternational Skating Union.^[7]

You Young is the third child and only daughter of her father, You Il-jin, who ran a business inIndonesia, and mother, Lee Sook-hee. She moved to Indonesia at age two because of her father's business and spent her youth inSingapore. She enrolled in Bukit Timah primary school and attended school for a year before she returned toSouth Korea.

You's father passed away in February 2022.^[8]

You Young began skating after watchingYuna Kim's victory at the2010 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-basedZhang Wei, a former Chinese national ice dancer who won gold with partnerWang 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 toldTODAY: "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]}

In January 2016, You Young won the gold medal at the2016 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, becoming the youngest-ever national champion of South Korea at age 11, surpassing the previous record set byYuna Kim who won at age 12 in 2003.

In March, You won the gold medal at the novice level of theCup of Tyrol.

In November 2016, You won the silver medal at the novice level of theTallinn Trophy behindAlena Kanysheva of Russia.

In January 2017, she finished fifth at the2017 South Korean Figure Skating Championships mainly because of a fall in the short program.

You debuted on theJunior Grand Prix (JGP) series in September 2018, placing fourth atJGP Croatia inZagreb. In October, she placed fifth atJGP Italy inEgna.

In January 2018, she won the gold medal at the2018 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, earning her second national title.

In March, You finished ninth at the2018 World Junior Championships.

In August 2018, You began competing on theJGP series, winning the bronze medal atJGP Slovakia inBratislava, behind RussiansAnna Shcherbakova andAnna Tarusina. It is currently her first and only JGP medal. She then placed fourth atJGP Canada inRichmond, British Columbia, Canada.

After earning herthird national title, You was assigned to the2019 World Junior Championships. In February 2019, she won gold at the 2019Bavarian 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]

You opened her season at the 2019Philadelphia Summer International, where she won the gold medal. You debuted on theChallenger series, winning the bronze medal at the2019 CS Lombardia Trophy behind RussiansAnna Shcherbakova andElizaveta 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, the2019 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, withMie Hamada becoming her primary coach along withTammy Gambill.^[17]

Making hersenior Grand Prix debut at the2019 Skate Canada International, You successfully landed a ratified triple Axel in the short program to place second behind new training mateRika 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, afterAlexandra Trusova and Kihira.^[19][20] You's success at Skate Canada led to her being given a second Grand Prix assignment, the2019 Cup of China, where she placed fourth after mistakes in both programs.^[21]

You entered the2020 South Korean Championships as the defending champion and, given her success on the international circuit, was favored to repeat her title. After placing first in both segments, she won the gold medal ahead ofLee Hae-in andKim Ye-lim. She was assigned to the Korean teams for the2020 World Championships along with Kim, and the2020 Four Continents Championships with Kim andLim Eun-soo.^[22][23]

Two weeks later, at the2020 Youth Olympics in Lausanne, she placed first in the short program, a little less than 2 points ahead ofKsenia 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 theWinter Youth Olympics, which included previous championsElizaveta Tuktamysheva (2012) andPolina Tsurskaya (2016).

In February, You returned to the senior level for the2020 Four Continents Championships. She placed third in the short program behindRika Kihira andBradie 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 theZayak 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 atFour Continents sinceOlympic ChampionYuna Kim won the event in2009.^[26] She was assigned to make her seniorWorld Championship debut inMontreal, but these were cancelled as a result of thecoronavirus pandemic.^[27]

With the pandemic continuing to affect international travel, the ISU opted to assign theGrand Prix based primarily on geographic location. You was initially without a Grand Prix assignment but was subsequently added to the2020 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 the2021 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 the2021 World Championships.^[31]

You began the season at theSkating Club of Boston'sCranberry Cup event, where she won the silver medal, 30 points behind championAlysa Liu. She next went on theChallenger series to compete at the2021 CS Autumn Classic International, where she was considered by many to be the gold medal favourite but ultimately took silver behind surprise winnerMarilena Kitromilis ofCyprus. She did not land a clean triple Axel at either event.^[32]

Beginning theGrand Prix at the2021 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 medalistDaria Usacheva.^[33][34] At her second event, the2021 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 the2022 South Korean Championships as the title favourite and placed first in both segments to win the gold medal. Her margin over the silver medalistKim Ye-lim was 13.85 points.^[36] She and Kim were named to theSouth Korean Olympic team, and sent to compete at the2022 Four Continents Championships alongside bronze medalistLee Hae-in. You struggled at the event inTallinn, botching the triple Axel attempt in both segments and finishing sixth overall, behind both Lee and Kim.^[37]

Competing at the2022 Winter Olympics inBeijing, You started thewomen'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, theInternational Skating Union banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at the2022 World Championships due to theRussian invasion of Ukraine. 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-placeMariah 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]

You began her season by winning a silver medal at the2022 U.S. Classic behind teammateKim Ye-lim.^[44] On theGrand Prix, she entered the2022 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" byJax, which was dedicated to her father, who had passed earlier that year.^[48][8]

In January, during the2023 South Korean Championships, You suffered a back injury and finished the competition in eleventh-place after placing ninth in the short program but fifteenth in the free skate. Due to this result, Young was not named to the2023 World Team but was assigned to compete at the2023 International Challenge Cup.^[49][50][51]

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 the2023 CS Nepela Memorial to begin the season. Appearing on the2023-24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, she was eleventh of twelve skaters at the2023 Skate America.^[44] At her second assignment, the2023 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]

She would go on to finish eighth at the national ranking competition and seventh at the2024 South Korean Championships.^[44][56]

You's championship result earned her a berth on the Korean team for the2024 World Championships inMontreal, 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]

Although You was initially assigned to compete at2024 Skate America and2024 Finlandia Trophy, her name was later withdrawn from both events.^{[58][59][60][61][62]}

• Was the first torch bearer in theSouth Korean stretch of the2018 Winter Olympics torch relay^[74]
• Listed inForbes's 30 under 30 - Asia 2018^[75]

Small medals for short and free programs awarded only atISU Championships. Personal best highlighted inbold.

Personal best highlighted inbold.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toYou Young.

• Young YOU at theInternational Skating Union
• You Young atOlympedia
• You Young atOlympics.com
• You Young onInstagram(in Korean)

• 2004 births
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• South Korean female single skaters
• Figure skaters at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics
• Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics
• Olympic figure skaters for South Korea
• Youth Olympic gold medalists for South Korea
• Four Continents Figure Skating Championships medalists
• Figure skaters from Seoul
• 21st-century South Korean sportswomen

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