![Cha Jun-hwan of Seoul City Hall, who finished fourth in men’s singles in his third Olympics, left open the possibility of what comes next. [Photo provided by Samsung Electronics]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2026/02/20/20260220045320518704.jpg)
Cha posted a total score of 273.92 points to place fourth in the men’s singles free skate at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, which ended at Milan Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 14 (Korea time). He missed the bronze by 0.98 points behind Japan’s Shun Sato (274.90). Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold with 291.58, and Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama took silver with 280.06.
In a recent interview with Samsung Electronics after the competition, Cha said, “I had three events at this Olympics, and each one was a ‘decisive moment’ I couldn’t leave out.” He added, “We competed in the team event for the first time in eight years, and I think I achieved everything I set out to do in the individual event. I think it will be an Olympics I remember for a long time.”
Cha placed 15th at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, then set a new personal best with fifth at the 2022 Beijing Games. He did not reach the podium in Milan, but his fourth-place finish marked South Korea’s best-ever result in Olympic men’s singles.
He is the second South Korean men’s figure skater to compete in three consecutive Olympics, after Chung Sung-il (1988, 1992, 1994).
“Going to three Olympics helped me grow my own dream,” Cha said. “Of course, there were moments when I had no choice but to break down. Each time, my family and my coaches helped me back up, so I didn’t have to give up on my dream.”
He said he now feels responsibility as a senior member of the national team. “I want to think about the younger skaters and encourage them,” he said, adding that being a two-time Olympian gave him the strength to keep moving forward.
Cha said injuries and setbacks during preparation left him thinking first of rest after the event. “I think I’ve never really had proper rest through three Olympics,” he said. “I want to give myself a break.”
![Cha Jun-hwan competes in the men’s singles free skate at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics at Milan Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 13 (local time), then greets the crowd after his program. [Yonhap]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2026/02/20/20260220045454133081.jpg)
“Even before the Olympics started, people used the phrase ‘last dance,’ but I’ve never said that myself,” he said.
He added that he could not predict what would come four years later even after Beijing. “I just went season by season, and I ended up in Milan,” he said. “Four years is a long time, so I can’t even imagine the 2030 Alps Olympics right now. I believe that if I keep living my life, I’ll find my ‘path.’”
Asked to sum up the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics in one word, Cha answered “Piantao,” which he said is Spanish for “crazy.”
He said it is a line he has long liked from the lyrics of his free-skate music, “Ballad for a Madman.” “It’s shouted three times in the song, and that feeling comes across as very real and honest,” he said.
After completing his Olympic schedule, Cha is set to skate in the figure skating gala show on Feb. 22 as an invited athlete from the International Skating Union (ISU).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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