Cha Jun-hwan reveals fresh Olympic free skate plan

Figure skating star Cha Jun-hwan, 25, unveiled the costume he will wear for his free skate at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics on Jan. 17, less than a month before the main event begins on Feb. 14. A day after completing the national team selection competition on Jan. 5, Cha also decided to change the background music for his free skate, switching from the Moulin Rouge original soundtrack he had used earlier to “Ballad for a Madman (Roco),” which he performed last season.

Figure skaters typically prepare for an Olympic season years in advance, competing in International Skating Union events and closely analyzing judges’ scores to fine-tune their programs. Against that backdrop, Cha’s late decision stands out as highly unusual.

Cha said, “Although there is not much time left until the Olympics, I considered it carefully and made the decision quickly. The Olympics only happen once every four years. My priority was deciding what kind of moment I wanted this performance to create.”

He added, “I enjoyed the Moulin Rouge film and drew strength from the lyrics of ‘The Show Must Go On’ and ‘Come What May.’ But the song that allows me to truly show my inner self is Roco.”

Cha’s free skating was named a finalist for both Best Program and Best Costume at last season’s ISU Awards. He also changed his costume from red to white, shifting the focus of the program from passion to confession.

Cha explained, “Last season, I built the program around an explosive display of emotion. Listening to the song again, Milba’s voice struck me as a heartfelt confession, expressing my inner feelings.”

Cha’s Olympic journey has been guided more by expression than spectacle. He had initially planned to attempt as many as five quadruple jumps, the most difficult elements in figure skating, across both the short program and the free skate.

That plan, however, was derailed by an unexpected problem with his boots. The pair he wore around this time last year fit perfectly, prompting him to order four additional pairs to the same specifications. Each, however, arrived with subtle differences in size. Although the manufacturer insisted the boots were identical, they felt so different that his existing custom insoles could not be used.

In the lead-up to this year’s national team selection, Cha changed his boots 11 times. In figure skating, where athletes repeatedly land high-impact jumps on ice, proper ankle support is essential. The instability forced Cha to abandon plans for quadruple jump combinations and instead opt for single quad jumps at the Olympics.

“It has been extremely frustrating,” Cha said. “I spent more than two months dealing with boots that did not fit. Realistically, I was only able to train properly just before the national championships this month. Attempting elements I am not fully prepared for would be reckless. Given the training time I have left, I need to focus on improving the quality of the program I have now.”

Cha faced similar limitations at last year’s Harbin Winter Asian Games, where he was also unable to attempt the number of quadruple jumps he had hoped for. Even so, he delivered a polished performance with a three-quad program, capturing South Korea’s first men’s figure skating gold medal at the Asian Games.

Cha will depart for Beijing on Jan. 20 to compete in the Four Continents Championships, his final competitive test before the Olympics. He won the event in 2022, becoming the first South Korean man to claim the title, and is aiming to medal for a third consecutive year.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com