Chaeyeon Kim: “Rather than focusing on the Olympic spot, my goal is to show how much I’ve grown. Rather than saying I’m confident, I’m just ‘acting confident.'”
Chaeyeon Kim on her performance at the Skate America.
original source: mfocus.kr dd. November 16th 2025 by Park Jimin / mfocus.kr dd. November 17th 2025 by Park Jimin
Chaeyeon Kim finished sixth at Skate America with a season-best score, reflecting on her performance and growth as Korean skaters prepare for upcoming Olympic selection events. Here’s a translation of her comments posted on MFocus.
In her post-skate interview after the short program, Kim said, “Today, I enjoyed the competition much more than the last event. I was a bit nervous, but I’m very grateful for all the support from the audience.” She added, “In practice, my lutz–toe loop combination was much better, but I think I was a little tense today. I wanted to show what I did in practice during the program, so that part is a bit disappointing. Still, I’m positive that I landed the final jump without falling.”
Asked about the lingering effects of her early-season injury, she replied, “It’s much better now. I practiced my programs and jumps a lot while preparing for the competition, so I think it’s improved.” Regarding her decision to use last year’s free skate program again, she explained, “I didn’t have enough time to practice a new free program because of the injury. The previous program feels more comfortable and suits me better, so I chose it again.”
When asked about challenges of the English-speaking environment while off-season training in Canada, Kim said, “Sometimes it’s a bit hard to start conversations, but my English has improved a lot living in Canada, so it’s much better than before.” She also commented on working with her Canadian coach at Skate Canada: “Since I trained a lot in Canada, I wanted to get feedback more comfortably at the competition. Right before this event, I trained in Korea because of my back, but both training in Korea and Canada helped me a lot.”
Regarding the theme of her short program, Kim explained, “The title itself, ‘Who Has the Right?,’ is profound, so I thought a lot about how to express it. I discussed it with my coaches and tried to perform in a more mature and deep way.”
After her performance in the free skate, Chaeyeon Kim said in the mixed zone, “I made a few mistakes today, so I’m a bit disappointed compared to yesterday. Still, I’m glad my score improved from the last competition. I’ll need to review and fix the mistakes when I return to Korea.” She previously scored 148.96 at the Ondrej Nepela Memorial Challenger Series in September while recovering from injury, and this event marked a 40-point improvement, confirming her recovery.
Reflecting on the Grand Prix season, Kim said, “It was tough, but I think I’ve grown mentally. I found many areas to improve technically, and it was helpful to identify these before the ranking event.” Regarding her decision to reuse last season’s program due to injury, she explained, “It’s the same program as last year, but I tried to give it a different feel. I worked with my choreographer to revise the details, and I hope those changes are well received.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming ranking event, she said, “I want to show an even better performance than at this competition. Rather than focusing on the Olympic ticket, my goal is to show how much I’ve grown. Rather than saying I’m confident, I’m just ‘acting confident.’ Asked about her more active presence recently, she replied, “I think it’s partly the influence of Canada. I’m trying to appear that way.”
Related topics: Chaeyeon Kim, Skate America
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