Choi Da-bin explained

Choi Da-bin
Native Name:	최다빈
Native Name Lang:	ko
Country:	South Korea
Birth Date:	January 19, 2000
Birth Place:	Seoul, South Korea
Hometown:	Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Residence:	Seoul, South Korea
Coach:	Shin Hea-sook
Formercoach:	Lee Eun-hee, Christa Fassi, Ghislain Briand, Chi Hyun-jung
Choreographer:	Kenji Miyamoto
Formerchoreographer:	Tetsuya Nakajima, Nikita Mikhailov, David Wilson, Pasquale Camerlengo
Currenttraininglocations:	Taeneung, South Korea
Beganskating:	2004
Pbrankings:	18 (2017–18) 24 (2016–17) 33 (2015–16) 40 (2014–15) 41 (2013–14)
Show-Medals:	yes
Combined Total:	199.26
Combined Date:	2018 Winter Olympics
Sp Score:	67.77
Sp Date:	2018 Winter Olympics
Fs Score:	131.49
Fs Date:	2018 Winter Olympics

Hangul:	최다빈
Hanja:	崔 多彬
Mr:	Ch'oe Tabin
Rr:	Choe Dabin

Choi Da-bin (; born January 19, 2000) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2017 Asian Winter Games champion and a 5-time South Korean national medalist (three silver, two bronze). She has placed in the top ten at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the 2017 World Championships, the Four Continents Championships (2016, 2017, 2018). Earlier in her career, she won two bronze medals during the 2015–16 ISU Junior Grand Prix series in Austria and Latvia. She has placed in the top ten at the World Junior Championships (2014, 2015).

Personal life

Choi was born on January 19, 2000, in Seoul. She attended Suri High School as a student, same as fellow skater Kim Yuna .

Choi's mother died on June 26, 2017, while battling cancer. Choi has said that her mother was her biggest supporter and fan. Her 2017-18 season short program 'Papa Can You Hear Me?' was dedicated to her.

She currently studies Sports Psychology at Korea University Graduate School.

Career

Early years

As a nine-year-old, Choi won the novice silver medal at the 2010 South Korean Nationals. Competing on the senior level, she won bronze medals at the 2012 and 2013 Nationals.

2013–2014 season: Junior international debut

In the 2013–14 season, Choi debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, finishing fourth and fifth at her two events.At the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, she placed ninth in the short program, sixth in the free skate, and sixth overall, setting a new personal best score of 162.35 points.

2014–2015 season

In the 2014–15 season, Choi finished fourth and fifth at her JGP events in France and Japan. At the 2015 South Korean Nationals, she placed second in both programs to win silver behind Park So-youn. At the 2015 World Junior Championships, she placed ninth in both programs and ninth overall, thus securing two spots for her country at the 2016 edition.

2015–2016 season: Two JGP medals and senior international debut

In the 2015–16 season, Choi won her first JGP medals, taking bronze in Riga, Latvia, and Linz, Austria. Making her senior international debut, Choi finished eighth at the 2015 CS Tallinn Trophy. At the 2015 KSU President Cup Ranking Competition, she won her first gold medal at a national competition. At the 2016 Four Continents Championships in Taipei, Taiwan, she placed 8th with personal bests in the free skate and total scores.

2016–2017 season: Winter Asian Games champion

Making her senior Grand Prix debut, Choi placed 7th at the 2016 Skate Canada International and 8th at the 2016 NHK Trophy. She placed fourth at the 2017 South Korean Championships. She changed her short program music from Qué rico el mambo into Steven Universe and La La Land in the middle of the season. She also changed coaches, deciding to join Lee Eun-hee. She placed fifth at the 2017 Four Continents Championships in Gangneung, South Korea, improving her personal best scores in all categories.

Called up to replace the injured Park So-youn at the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan, Choi won her country's first-ever figure skating gold medal at the event. South Korea also selected Choi to replace the injured Kim Na-hyun at the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. She would place tenth in Finland, allowing her country to send two ladies' single skaters to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and 2018 World Championships in Milan.

2017–2018 season: 2018 Winter Olympics

Choi began the season competing at the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, placing fourth. At the first of her two assignments on the 2017-18 Grand Prix circuit, the 2017 Cup of China, she placed a disappointing ninth, hampered by a foot injury. She subsequently withdrew from her second Grand Prix event at the 2017 Skate America as a result of the injury.

Choi and Kim Ha-nul were selected to compete at both the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, and the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships in Milan, Italy. They were joined by Park So-youn for the 2018 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taipei, Taiwan.

At the Four Continents Championships, Choi missed the podium, coming in fourth just behind Japan's Satoko Miyahara. Choi reverted to her Doctor Zhivago free skate program for this and all subsequent competitions for the season, citing the difficulty in performing its replacement to the standard she desired.

Choi received a standing ovation for her short program at the Olympics, including from South Korea's Yuna Kim. She set personal bests in both the short program and free skate and finished seventh overall. Her short program for the season, set to "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" was dedicated to her mother, who had died shortly before the South Korean qualifying event. Choi commented following her performance in the team event: "I am very thankful to my mother, who is watching me from Heaven."

After skating the short program at the 2018 World Championships, Choi was compelled to withdraw due to equipment failure.^[1]

Following the season, Choi made a coaching change from Lee Eun-hee to Shin Hea-sook.

2018–2019 season

Although assigned to compete at 2018 Ondrej Nepela Trophy, 2018 Skate Canada, and 2018 NHK Trophy, Choi withdrew from all three events due to continued boot problems. She didn't compete for the rest of the 2018–19 figure skating season.

During the off-season, Choi participated in the 2019 All That Skate show.

2019–2020 season

Returning to international competition, Choi began the 2019–20 figure skating season with a seventh-place finish at 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. She then went on to finish fourth at the 2019 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and twelfth at 2019 CS Warsaw Cup. Choi did not compete at the 2020 Korean Championships.

2021–2022 season

Despite not competing for the first half of the 2021–22 figure skating season, Choi was assigned to compete at 2021 Winter Universiade, however, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Choi announced during a guest appearance on South Korean TV show, Sporty Sisters 2, that she would likely retire from competitive figure skating following the season, citing her struggles with boot problems and ankle injuries as the main reason behind the decision.

2022–2023 season: Return to competition

Despite Choi's previous intention to retire from competitive figure skating, she decided to return to competition for the 2022–23 figure skating season, stating that her goal was to compete at 2023 Winter University Games.

Choi began her season with a bronze medal and eighteenth-place finish at the 2022 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and 2022 CS Ice Challenge, respectively. She went on to finish fourteenth at the 2023 Korean Championships, after placing twelfth in the short program but fourteenth in the free skate.

Choi was selected to compete at the Winter University Games, where she placed sixth in both the short and free program, finishing in sixth place overall.

2023–2024 season

Appearing on the Challenger circuit, Choi finished fifth at the 2023 CS Autumn Classic International. She then went on to win silver at the 2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.

Choi went on to finish fifteenth at the national ranking competition and thirteenth at the 2024 South Korean Championships.

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2023-2024	Schindler's List ---- Hymne à l'amour	Legends of the Fall ---- Lovers
2022-2023	Tu Sei ---- Le Corsaire	Legends of the Fall	Tu Sei
2019–2020	Tu Sei	Love Story
2018–2019	Don't Cry for Me Argentina	Carmen	Sparkling Diamonds ---- The Godfather
2017–2018	Papa, Can You Hear Me?	Doctor Zhivago ---- Gypsy Songs ---- I Feel Pretty Maria	Sparkling Diamonds ---- The Godfather Por una Cabeza ---- Jeongseon Arirang Rapsody ---- It's Over, Isn't It? Someone in the Crowd
2016–2017	It's Over, Isn't It? Someone in the Crowd ---- Qué rico el mambo	Doctor Zhivago	Candyman
2015–2016	Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now	Les Misérables	Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
2014–2015	Invierno Porteno	Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante op. 22
2013–2014	Kalinka	Coppélia
2012–2013	Annie	Waltz
2011–2012	Sing, Sing, Sing	Mack and Mabel
2010–2011	unknown	Don Quixote

Competitive highlights

2013–14 to present

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International
Event	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18	18–19	19–20	22–23	23–24
align=left						7th
align=left				14th	10th	WD
align=left				8th	5th	4th
align=left						WD
align=left					7th		WD
align=left						9th
align=left					9th		WD
align=left										5th
align=left									bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd
align=left						9th
align=left									18th
align=left								7th
align=left					4th	4th	WD
align=left				8th
align=left					4th
align=left								12th
align=left					bgcolor=gold	1st
align=left					bgcolor=silver	2nd
align=left								4th
align=left									6th
International: Junior
align=left		6th	9th
align=left				bgcolor=cc9966	3rd
align=left		4th
align=left			5th
align=left			4th
align=left				bgcolor=cc9966	3rd
align=left		5th
align=left		bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd
align=left			bgcolor=gold	1st
National
align=left		4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=silver	2nd	4th	bgcolor=silver	2nd		WD	14th	13th
align=left	Ranking Comp.							10th	13th	15th
Team events
align=left						9th T 6th P
Levels: J = Junior TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result.

2007–08 to 2012–13: Pre-junior international debut

International: Novice
Event	07–08	08–09	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13
align=left						bgcolor=gold	1st N	bgcolor=gold	1st N
National
align=left		16th N	8th N	bgcolor=silver	2nd N	12th J	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd
Levels: J = Junior; N = Novice

Detailed results

Senior level

Current personal best scores are highlighted in bold.

At team events, medals are awarded for team results only.

2023–24 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
January 4–7, 2024		align=center	13 58.20	align=center	12 116.44	align=center	13 174.64
November 1–4, 2023	2023 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge	align=center	1 59.70	align=center	2 111.30	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 171.00
September 14–17, 2023	2023 CS Autumn Classic International	align=center	5 58.60	align=center	5 104.66	align=center	5 163.26
2022–23 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
January 13–15, 2023		align=center	6 59.13	align=center	6 112.40	align=center	6 171.53
January 5–8, 2023		align=center	12 58.40	align=center	14 111.09	align=center	14 169.49
November 9–13, 2022	2022 CS Ice Challenge	align=center	19 44.78	align=center	18 87.88	align=center	18 132.66
October 26–29, 2022	2022 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge	align=center	3 49.76	align=center	2 95.30	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 145.06
2019–20 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
November 14–17, 2019	2019 CS Warsaw Cup	align=center	10 54.89	align=center	14 97.79	align=center	12 152.68
October 9–12, 2019	2019 Denis Ten Memorial	align=center	4 54.65	align=center	5 105.93	align=center	4 160.58
September 25–28, 2019	2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy	align=center	8 53.91	align=center	7 103.27	align=center	7 157.18
2018–19 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
November 9–11, 2018	2018 NHK Trophy	align=center	WD	align=center	WD	align=center	WD
October 26–28, 2018	2018 Skate Canada International	align=center	WD	align=center	WD	align=center	WD
2017–18 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 19–25, 2018	2018 World Championships	align=center	21 55.30	align=center	WD	align=center	WD
February 14–23, 2018	2018 Winter Olympics (ladies' singles)	align=center	8 67.77	align=center	8 131.49	align=center	7 199.26
February 9–12, 2018	2018 Winter Olympics (team event)	align=center	6 65.73	align=center	–	align=center	9
January 22–28, 2018	2018 Four Continents Championships	align=center	5 62.30	align=center	4 127.93	align=center	4 190.23
January 5–7, 2018	2018 South Korean Championships	align=center	4 64.11	align=center	2 126.01	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 190.12
November 3–5, 2017	2017 Cup of China	align=center	9 53.90	align=center	9 112.09	align=center	9 165.99
October 6–8, 2017	2017 CS Finlandia Trophy	align=center	10 52.06	align=center	9 106.47	align=center	9 158.53
September 21–23, 2017	2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy	align=center	4 56.62	align=center	3 122.31	align=center	4 178.93
2016–17 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 27–April 2, 2017	2017 World Championships	align=center	11 62.66	align=center	7 128.45	align=center	10 191.11
February 23–26, 2017	2017 Asian Winter Games	align=center	1 61.30	align=center	1 126.24	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 187.54
February 15–19, 2017	2017 Four Continents Championships	align=center	6 61.62	align=center	4 120.79	align=center	5 182.41
January 6–8, 2017	2017 South Korean Championships	align=center	4 60.19	align=center	3 121.29	align=center	4 181.48
November 25–27, 2016	2016 NHK Trophy	align=center	11 51.06	align=center	9 114.57	align=center	9 165.63
October 28–30, 2016	2016 Skate Canada	align=center	8 53.29	align=center	6 112.49	align=center	7 165.78
September 28–October 2, 2016	2016 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial	align=center	10 48.01	align=center	2 112.61	align=center	4 160.62
September 14–18, 2016	2016 CS U.S. Classic	align=center	3 58.70	align=center	5 94.29	align=center	4 152.99
August 4–7, 2016	2016 Asian Open Trophy	align=center	2 51.71	align=center	1 108.56	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 160.27
2015–16 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 28 – April 3, 2016	2016 World Championships	align=center	16 56.02	align=center	15 103.90	align=center	14 159.92
February 16–21, 2016	2016 Four Continents Championships	align=center	10 56.79	align=center	6 116.92	align=center	8 173.71
January 8–10, 2016	2016 South Korean Championships	align=center	2 60.32	align=center	2 116.97	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 177.29
November 17–22, 2015	2015 CS Tallinn Trophy	align=center	13 43.74	align=center	7 102.18	align=center	8 145.92

Junior level

2015–16 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
September 9–13, 2015	2015 JGP Austria	Junior	align=center	4 57.27	align=center	3 115.11	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 172.38
August 26–30, 2015	2015 JGP Latvia	Junior	align=center	4 57.21	align=center	3 111.08	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 168.29
2014–15 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
April 15–19, 2015	2015 Triglav Trophy	Junior	align=center	1 56.61	align=center	1 109.39	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 166.00
March 2–8, 2015	2015 World Junior Championships	Junior	align=center	9 54.32	align=center	9 102.06	align=center	9 156.38
January 5–9, 2015	2015 South Korean Championships	Senior	align=center	2 54.04	align=center	2 106.76	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 160.80
September 17–21, 2014	2014 JGP Japan	Junior	align=center	7 52.66	align=center	3 105.94	align=center	4 158.60
August 20–24, 2014	2014 JGP France	Junior	align=center	7 46.04	align=center	5 91.47	align=center	5 137.51
August 6–10, 2014	2014 Asian Open Trophy	Junior	align=center	3 55.55	align=center	2 101.40	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 156.95
2013–14 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
March 10–16, 2014	2014 World Junior Championships	Junior	align=center	9 53.69	align=center	6 108.66	align=center	6 162.35
January 1–5, 2014	2014 South Korean Championships	Senior	align=center	10 50.38	align=center	3 108.26	align=center	4 158.64
September 25–29, 2013	2013 JGP Belarus	Junior	align=center	11 45.18	align=center	2 98.51	align=center	4 143.69
September 4–8, 2013	2013 JGP Mexico	Junior	align=center	7 47.48	align=center	5 94.75	align=center	5 142.23
August 8–11, 2013	2013 Asian Open Trophy	Junior	align=center	3 48.68	align=center	3 92.40	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 141.08
2012–13 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
January 2–6, 2013	2013 South Korean Championships	Senior	align=center	2 53.21	align=center	3 99.88	align=center bgcolor="cc9966"	3 153.09
August 7–12, 2012	2012 Asian Open Trophy	Novice	align=center	2 42.52	align=center	1 70.29	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 112.81
2011–12 season
Date	Event	Level	SP	FS	Total
January 12–16, 2012	2012 South Korean Championships	Senior	align=center	4 44.20	align=center	2 97.26	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 141.46
August 22–26, 2011	2011 Asian Open Trophy	Novice	align=center	1 39.50	align=center	3 48.70	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 88.20

• Personal bests highlighted in bold.

Further reading

• News: http://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=201512062119323030 . ko:최다빈, 피겨 랭킹대회 첫우승..차준환 男 최고점(종합) . Korean . Choi Da-bin won the KSU President Cup, Cha Jun-hwan recorded new record among Korean male skaters . 주 . 미희 . . December 6, 2015.
• 2013 Asian Figure Skating Trophy Results
• 2012 Asian Figure Skating Trophy Results
• 2011 Asian Figure Skating Trophy Results
• Web site: 2013 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Results and Protocols . Korean Skating Union . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192245/http://www.skating.or.kr/files/notice/notice_1357470806281.zip . 2013-10-29 . ko, en.
• Web site: 2012 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Results and Protocols . Korean Skating Union . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184145/http://www.skating.or.kr/files/notice/notice_1326174276309.zip . 2013-10-29 . ko, en.
• Web site: 2011 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Results and Protocols . Korean Skating Union . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184422/http://www.skating.or.kr/files/notice/notice_1295166017207.zip . 2013-10-29 . ko, en.
• Web site: 2010 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Results and Protocols . Korean Skating Union . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724090437/http://skating.or.kr/files/download.php?folder=notice&file=notice_1263117101650.zip . 2011-07-24 . ko, en.
• Web site: 2009 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Results and Protocols . Korean Skating Union . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200337/http://www.skating.or.kr/files/notice/notice_1231589673767.zip . 2013-10-29 . ko, en.
• Web site: 2008 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Results and Protocols(2) . Korean Skating Union . ko, en.
• Web site: 2008 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Results and Protocols(1) . Korean Skating Union . ko, en.

External links

• • Choi Da-bin's Facebook

Notes and References

1. Communication No. 28 from ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018