Li Zijun Explained

Li Zijun
Fullname:	Li Zijun
Country:	China
Birth Date:	14 December 1996
Birth Place:	Changchun, China
Hometown:	Beijing, China
Formercoach:	Alexei Mishin, Gao Haijun, Li Mingzhu, Pang Qing, Li Chengjiang, Meng Di, Bao Li
Formerchoreographer:	Lori Nichol, Jiang Hailan, David Wilson, Karen Kwan-Oppegard
Skating Club:	Jilin Winter Sports Centre
Formertraininglocations:	Changchun, China Saint Petersburg, Russia Beijing
Beganskating:	2001
Retired:	November 13, 2018
Worldranking:	45 ()^[1]
Combined Total:	188.06
Combined Date:	2017 World Team Trophy
Sp Score:	65.39
Sp Date:	2016 Worlds
Fs Score:	128.30
Fs Date:	2017 World Team Trophy
Show-Medals:	yes

Li Zijun (; December 14, 1996) is a Chinese former competitive figure skater. She is the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic bronze medalist and the 2014 Four Continents bronze medalist. Li is also the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, 2010 JGP Final bronze medalist, and a four-time (2011–2014) Chinese national champion.

Li represented China at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Li was born on December 14, 1996, in Changchun, China.

In 2023, Li announced that she had gotten married and had a daughter.

Career

2010–11 season: First senior national title

Li debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit during the 2010–11 season. She won the bronze medal in Austria and placed fourth in the Czech Republic to qualify for the Final. At the Junior Grand Prix Final, she tied with Risa Shoji for third place. She won the bronze medal on the tie-breaker.

Li went on to win her first senior national title. She finished ninth at the 2011 World Junior Championships.

2011–12 season: Bronze at Youth Olympics

Li placed second in both of her assigned 2011–12 Junior Grand Prix events and qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final which was held in Quebec City, Canada. She finished fourth at the event. At the Youth Olympics, she won the bronze medal. She then competed at the 2012 Junior World Championships and finished fifth. Concluding her season, Li won gold at her first senior international, the Triglav Trophy.

2012–13 season: Senior ISU Championship debut

In the 2012–13 season, Li debuted on the senior Grand Prix series. She was fifth at her first event, the 2012 Cup of China, and fourth at the 2012 NHK Trophy, where she posted a personal best combined total score. Li won her third national title at the 2013 Chinese Championships. She then competed at the 2013 Four Continents Championships and finished fifth. She finished seventh at Worlds after placing twelfth in the short program and fourth in the long. She received the second highest technical score in the free skate, only after Kim Yuna.^[2]

2013–14 season: Bronze at Four Continents

In the 2013–14 ISU Grand Prix season, Li's first event was the 2013 Cup of China where she finished tenth. Prior to her next Grand Prix assignment, the 2013 NHK Trophy, her coach Li Mingzhu stated, "She's getting taller and bigger, but losing power and coordination" and said it was affecting her self-confidence. The skater withdrew from the NHK Trophy, which was scheduled for the following week. She returned to competition at the 2014 Four Continents Championships, placing second in the short, third in the long and won the bronze medal overall behind gold medalist winner Kanako Murakami, and second-place finisher Satoko Miyahara. Li then competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia where she finished fourteenth. At the 2014 World Championships, Li finished seventeenth overall.

2014–15 season

After the 2013–14 season, Li's head coach Li Mingzhu's contract to coach young Chinese skate for the 2014 Olympics ended and she moved back to the United States, while Li remained in China. In October, Gao Haijun became Li's new coach.^[3]

Li finished 6th at the 2014 Cup of China, after placing fifth in the short program and sixth in the free skate. At the 2014 NHK Trophy, she placed fifth in the short, eighth in the free, and seventh overall. She went on to win her fourth national title at the Chinese Championships, placing first by over 25 points.

At the 2015 Four Continents, Li finished in fifth-place after placing fifth in the short program and fourth in the free skate, 1.52 points back of third place. At the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai where she placed sixth in the short program and eleventh in the free skate to finish ninth overall. At the 2015 World Team Trophy, she placed seventh in the individual event and Team China placed fifth overall.

2015–16 season

For the 2015–16 Grand Prix series, Li was assigned to compete at 2015 Cup of China and 2015 NHK Trophy.^[4] She placed ninth in China and seventh in Japan.

She finished tenth at the 2016 Four Continents Championships in Taipei and eleventh at the 2016 World Championships in Boston.

2016–17 season

Ahead of the 2016–17 season, Li returned to train under Li Mingzhu in Artesia, California, and under Pang Qing. She later spent time training with Alexei Mishin in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and with Gao Haijun in Changchun, China.

Li began the season with a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rostelecom Cup before going on to place eighth at the 2016 Cup of China.

At the 2017 Four Continents Championships in Gangneung, South Korea, Li finished seventh after placing eighth in the short program and fifth in the free skate.

Li then went on to compete at the 2017 Asian Winter Games where she won the silver medal behind Choi Da-bin.

At the 2017 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Li finished in twenty-first place after placing twentieth in both the short and free program segments of the competition.

Li finished the season by competing at the 2017 World Team Trophy. After placing ninth in the short program, Li managed to score personal bests in both the free program and combined total scores. Team China would finish in fifth place overall.

2017–18 season

Although Li was assigned to compete at the 2017 Cup of China and the 2017 Internationaux de France, she withdrew from both events. Zhao Hongbo spoke on her behalf, stating that an injury was the reason for Li's withdrawals.

She did not compete for the remainder of the season.

In November 2018, Li announced her retirement from competitive figure skating on her Weibo account, stating that she no longer felt fulfilled from competing. She went on to say, "I am ready to embrace the new chapter of my life and I will continue being with you all."

Programs

Season	Short program	Free skating	Exhibition
2017–2018	East of Eden	Galaxy
2016–2017	Le Diable Matou	Only For Love	Baton Bunny soundtrack
2015–2016	Claire de Lune La Polka de Paris	The Artist	The Water Is Wide
2014–2015	Waltz of the Flowers	Moon River	I Dreamed a Dream
2013–2014	Danzarin	Coppélia	The Sound of Music
2012–2013	Dark Eyes	Sleeping Beauty	Express Yourself ---- Legend
2011–2012	The Addams Family The Carousel	Scenes of Summer	A Spoonful of Sugar ---- Simple Things
2010–2011	Up	Until The Last Moment	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2009–2010	East of Eden	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International
Event	09–10	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18
align=left						14th
align=left					7th	17th	9th	11th	21st
align=left					5th	bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	5th	10th	7th
align=left					5th	10th	6th	9th	8th	WD
align=left										WD
align=left					4th		7th	7th
align=left									4th
align=left									bgcolor=silver	2nd
align=left				bgcolor=gold	1st
align=left					bgcolor=gold	1st
International: Junior
align=left			9th	5th
align=left				bgcolor=cc9966	3rd
align=left			bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	4th
align=left			bgcolor=cc9966	3rd	bgcolor=silver	2nd
align=left			4th
align=left				bgcolor=silver	2nd
National
align=left		bgcolor=silver	2nd	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st	bgcolor=gold	1st		bgcolor=gold	1st
align=left				bgcolor=gold	1st				bgcolor=gold	1st
Team events
align=left					5th T 6th P		5th T 7th P		5th T 7th P
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew T = Team result; P = Personal result. Medals awarded for team result only.

Detailed results

Small medals for short program and free skating awarded only at ISU Championships.

2016–17 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
April 20–23, 2017	2017 World Team Trophy	align=center	9 59.76	align=center	7 128.30	align=center	5T/7P 188.06
March 28 – April 2, 2017	2017 World Championships	align=center	20 56.30	align=center	20 103.50	align=center	21 159.80
February 23–26, 2017	2017 Asian Winter Games	align=center	4 58.65	align=center	3 116.95	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 175.60
February 15–19, 2017	2017 Four Continents Championships	align=center	8 60.37	align=center	5 116.68	align=center	7 177.05
November 18–20, 2016	2016 Cup of China	align=center	7 61.32	align=center	8 111.08	align=center	8 172.40
November 4–6, 2016	2016 Rostelecom Cup	align=center	5 63.89	align=center	4 117.94	align=center	4 181.83
2015–16 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 28 – April 3, 2016	2016 World Championships	align=center	11 65.39	align=center	12 119.13	align=center	11 184.52
February 16–21, 2016	2016 Four Continents Championships	align=center	6 60.04	align=center	11 107.84	align=center	10 167.88
November 27–29, 2015	2015 NHK Trophy	align=center	6 60.78	align=center	10 105.62	align=center	7 166.40
November 6–8, 2015	2015 Cup of China	align=center	5 58.62	align=center	9 100.51	align=center	9 159.13
2014–15 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
April 16–19, 2015	2015 World Team Trophy	align=center	7 58.83	align=center	7 103.67	align=center	5T/7P 162.50
March 23–29, 2015	2015 World Championships	align=center	6 61.83	align=center	11 103.39	align=center	9 165.22
February 9–15, 2015	2015 Four Continents Championships	align=center	5 60.28	align=center	4 115.64	align=center	5 175.92
December 27–28, 2014	2014 Chinese Championships	align=center	1 52.79	align=center	1 109.09	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 161.88
November 28–30, 2014	2014 NHK Trophy	align=center	5 56.44	align=center	8 106.46	align=center	7 162.90
November 7–9, 2014	2014 Cup of China	align=center	5 53.66	align=center	6 98.96	align=center	6 152.62
2013–14 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
March 24–30, 2014	2014 World Championships	align=center	16 54.37	align=center	17 95.97	align=center	17 150.34
February 6–22, 2014	2014 Winter Olympics	align=center	11 57.55	align=center	14 110.75	align=center	14 168.30
January 20–26, 2014	2014 Four Continents Championships	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 62.84	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 118.72	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 181.56
November 1–3, 2013	2013 Cup of China	align=center	8 53.58	align=center	10 85.40	align=center	10 138.98
2012–13 season
Date	Event	SP	FS	Total
April 11–14, 2013	2013 World Team Trophy	align=center	9 53.16	align=center	4 118.34	align=center	5T/6P 171.50
March 10–17, 2013	2013 World Championships	align=center	12 56.31	align=center	4 127.54	align=center	7 183.85
February 8–11, 2013	2013 Four Continents Championships	align=center	10 54.51	align=center	4 115.91	align=center	5 170.42
January 10–13, 2012	2013 Volvo Open Cup	align=center	1 58.12	align=center	1 101.98	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 160.10
December 20–21, 2012	2013 Chinese Championships	align=center	1 58.09	align=center	1 117.01	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 175.10
November 22–25, 2012	2012 NHK Trophy	align=center	3 59.62	align=center	4 114.49	align=center	4 174.11
November 1–4, 2012	2012 Cup of China	align=center	5 59.21	align=center	5 100.85	align=center	5 160.06

Junior level

2011–12 season
Date	Event	Level	QR	SP	FS	Total
April 4–8, 2012	2012 Triglav Trophy	Senior	align=center	–	align=center	1 52.74	align=center	1 101.13	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 153.87
Feb. 27 – March 4, 2012	2012 World Junior Championships	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	6 51.74	align=center	5 105.57	align=center	5 157.31
January 14–22, 2012	2012 Youth Olympics	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	3 50.92	align=center	2 106.78	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 157.70
January 4–6, 2012	12th Chinese National Winter Games	Senior	align=center	–	align=center	1 60.56	align=center	1 125.56	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 186.12
December 8–11, 2011	2011–12 Junior Grand Prix Final	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	6 43.10	align=center	4 103.43	align=center	4 146.53
Sept. 28 – Oct. 1, 2011	2011 Junior Grand Prix, Austria	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	2 55.59	align=center	2 100.81	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 156.40
September 20–23, 2011	2012 Chinese Championships	Senior	align=center	–	align=center	3 49.28	align=center	1 100.77	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 150.05
Aug. 31 – Sept. 3, 2011	2011 Junior Grand Prix, Latvia	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	1 55.09	align=center	2 93.10	align=center bgcolor=silver	2 148.19
2010–11 season
Date	Event	Level	QR	SP	FS	Total
Feb. 27 – March 6, 2011	2011 World Junior Championships	Junior	align=center	3 89.10	align=center	8 51.00	align=center	10 88.81	align=center	9 139.81
December 23–24, 2010	2011 Chinese Championships	Senior	align=center	–	align=center	1 53.24	align=center	2 101.05	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 154.29
December 8–12, 2010	2010–11 Junior Grand Prix Final	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	5 49.62	align=center	4 100.20	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 149.82
October 13–16, 2010	2010 Junior Grand Prix, Czech Republic	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	5 47.76	align=center	4 100.50	align=center	4 148.26
September 15–18, 2010	2010 Junior Grand Prix, Austria	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	5 47.56	align=center	3 97.20	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	3 144.76
2009–10 season
Date	Event	Level	QR	SP	FS	Total
December 19–20, 2009	2010 Chinese Junior Championships	Junior	align=center	–	align=center	1 51.23	align=center	1 89.70	align=center bgcolor=gold	1 140.93
September 3–5, 2009	2010 Chinese Championships	Senior	align=center	–	align=center	3 44.82	align=center	2 83.94	align=center bgcolor=cc9966	2 128.76

QR = Qualifying round
Personal bests highlighted in bold.

Notes and References

Web site: ISU World Standings for Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance . 18 December 2016 . ISU Results . International Skating Union . 18 December 2016.
Web site: ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2013 Ladies Result . isuresults.com. 2013-03-24.
Web site: 李子君谈换教练：李明珠对我帮助大新教练很幽默. sina. Sina Sports. 17 April 2015.
Web site: ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2015/16- Ladies . ISU Prod . ISU . 16 June 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150702122543/http://isuprod.blob.core.windows.net/media/207789/gp_ladies.pdf . 2 July 2015 .