Kwak Min-Jeong

Kwak Min-Jeong

Kwak during her free program at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Personal information
Full name Kwak Min-Jeong
Country represented  South Korea
Born January 23, 1994 (1994-01-23) (age 18)
Seoul, South Korea
Home town Anyang, Gyeonggi
Residence Seoul
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Coach Hyun-Jeong Chi
Former coach Brian Orser
Kim Se Yol
Choi Hyung-Kyung
Lee Kyu-Hyun
Heo Sook Shin
Choreographer David Wilson
Jeffrey Buttle
Former choreographer Kim Se Yol
Shin Yea-Ji
Tuğba Karademir
Henrik Walentin
Current training locations Seoul, Toronto
Began skating 2001
World standing 46 (As of 26 October 2011 (2011 -10-26))[1]
Season's bests 38 (2010–2011)[2]
26 (2009–2010)[3]
77 (2008–2009)[4]
ISU personal best scores
Combined total 155.53
2010 Winter Olympics
Short program 53.68
2010 Four Continents
Free skate 102.37
2010 Winter Olympics
Kwak Min-Jeong
Hangul 곽민정
Hanja 郭珉整
Revised Romanization Kwak Min-jeong
McCune–Reischauer Kwak Hye-jŏng

Kwak Min-Jeong (born January 23, 1994 in Seoul) is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2011 South Korean bronze medalist, the 2010 South Korean silver medalist and the 2009 Junior national champion. Kwak was also a member of the South Korean Olympic Team at the 2010 Winter Olympics, where she placed 13th in the ladies' event.

Contents

Personal life

Kwak began skating when she was five years old. Before the 2010 Winter Olympics she moved to Toronto, Canada, and trained with Brian Orser, the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medalist. That partnership ended in August 2010.[5]

Career

Junior career

2007-2008 season

In the 2007-2008 season she was age eligible to compete in Junior competitions, so she competed at the 2007–2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix, placing 10th at the event in Tallinn with 98.77 points and 13th at the event in Great Britain with 103.89. She then competed at the South Korean Figure Skating Championships at the Junior level, where she came in fifth position.

2008-2009 season

In the 2008-2009 season, she had been assigned two events at the 2008–2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix. She won the bronze medal at the event in Mexico scoring 117.42 points but finished 13th at her other competition, held in Great Britain earning 106.05. She competed at the South Korean Figure Skating Championships again as a Junior, and won the gold medal with 114.89 points, placing first in both the short program and the free skating. She was selected to compete at the 2009 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and with 103.69 she finished 22nd overall.

2009-2010 season

In the 2009-2010 season, Kwak remained in the ISU Junior Grand Prix and competed in two events. She placed 11th in the first one held in the United States with 106.30 points. She went on to place 11th again with 108.21 at her second event, which took place in Croatia.

She was selected to compete at the 2010 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Jeonju, South Korea, her first Senior international competition. She placed seventh in the short program and fourth in the free skate to end in sixth position earning 154.71 points. Kwak was also chosen to be a member of the South Korean Olympic Team at the 2010 Winter Olympics, held in Vancouver, Canada, where she placed 13th with 155.53 points. She went on to compete at the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships in Turin, Italy, where she was in 22nd position after getting 120.47 points overall.

2010-2011 season

In the 2010-2011 season, Kwak moved to the senior ISU Grand Prix. Her assignments in the 2010-2011 ISU Grand Prix season were the 2010 Cup of China and the 2010 Skate America.

At the 2010 Cup of China, she placed ninth in the short program with 38.83 points and also ninth in the free skate with 75.15. Overall she placed ninth scoring 113.98 points. At the 2010 Skate America, she came tenth in the short program earning 44.41 points, and eleventh in the free skate with 80.80. She had a total of 125.21 points and finished eleventh.

She competed at the 2011 South Korean Figure Skating Championships, where she won the short program with 50.48 points. She placed third in the free skate earning 91.78 and won the bronze medal. She was selected to compete in the 2011 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and in the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships. At the 2011 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships she placed 8th in both skates finishing overall in 8th place. At the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships she placed 15th in the ladies qualifying round failing to advance to the short.

Public life and endorsements

Kwak toured in the 2010 Festa On Ice, held in Seoul, South Korea and headlined by 2010 Olympic champion ladies champion and her training mate Kim Yu-Na. She joined Kim in another ice show, the All That Skate, on July 23–25, 2010 in Goyang, South Korea, alongside other skaters like Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen and Stéphane Lambiel.[6]

Programs

Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2011-2012 East of Eden
by Lee Holdridge
choreography by Yea-Ji Shin
Gaite Parisienne
by Jacques Offenbach
choreography by David Wilson
2010–2011 Canon in D major
by Johann Pachelbel
choreography by David Wilson
Caprice Bohemien Op.12
by Sergei Rachmaninoff
choreography by David Wilson
Get Right
by Jennifer Lopez
choreography by Shin Yea-Ji

Don't Rain on My Parade
from Glee
choreography by Jeffrey Buttle
2009–2010 Murder on the Orient Express
by Richard Rodney Bennett
choreography by Kim Se Yol
Les Misérables
by Claude-Michel Schönberg
choreography by Kim Se Yol
The Voice Within
by Christina Aguilera
choreography by Shin Yea-Ji

Marshmallow
by IU
choreography by Shin Yea-Ji

SuperGirl
by Saving Jane
choreography by Tuğba Karademir
2008–2009 The Blood Diamond
soundtrack by James Newton Howard
choreography by Henrik Walentin
Stradivarius
by Edvin Marton
choreography by Henrik Walentin

Competitive highlights

Event 2007–08 2008–09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12
Winter Olympic Games 13th
World Championships 22nd 33rd
Four Continents Championships 6th 8th
World Junior Championships 22nd
South Korean Championships 2nd J. 1st J. 2nd 3rd
Skate America 11th
Cup of China 9th
Asian Winter Games 3rd
Asian Figure Skating Trophy 3rd
New Zealand Winter Games 1st
Junior Grand Prix, Croatia 11th
Junior Grand Prix, USA 11th
Junior Grand Prix, Mexico 3rd
Junior Grand Prix, Great Britain 13th 13th
Junior Grand Prix, Estonia 10th

Detailed results

2011-2012 Season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
August 22 - 26, 2011 2011 Asian Figure Skating Trophy Senior 3
43.19
4
71.71
3
114.90
August 11 - 13, 2011 2011 New Zealand Winter Games Senior 1
42.82
1
83.07
1
125.89
2010-2011 Season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
April 25 – May 1, 2011 2011 ISU World Championships Senior -
-
15 (QR)
67.75
-
-
February 15 – 20, 2011 2011 ISU Four Continents Championships Senior 8
50.47
8
96.68
8
147.15
February 3 – 5, 2011 2011 Asian Winter Games Senior 3
52.65
3
95.30
3
147.95
January 14–16, 2011 2011 South Korean Figure Skating Championships Senior 1
50.48
3
91.78
3
142.26
November 11–14, 2010 2010 ISU Grand Prix Skate America Senior 10
44.41
11
80.80
11
125.21
November 5–7, 2010 2010 ISU Grand Prix Cup of China Senior 9
38.83
9
75.15
9
113.98
2009-2010 Season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
March 22–28, 2010 2010 ISU World Championships Senior 23
47.46
22
73.01
22
120.47
February 14–27, 2010 2010 Winter Olympic Games Senior 16
53.16
12
102.37
13
155.53
January 25–31, 2010 2010 ISU Four Continents Championships Senior 7
53.68
4
101.03
6
154.71
January 9–10, 2010 2010 South Korean Championships Senior 2
46.23
2
88.00
2
134.23
October 7–11, 2009 2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Croatia Junior 8
41.08
12
67.13
11
108.21
September 2–6, 2009 2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix, USA Junior 12
38.49
11
67.81
11
106.30
2008–2009 Season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
February 21–28, 2009 2009 ISU World Junior Championships Junior 24
38.94
19
64.75
22
103.69
January 9–11, 2009 2009 South Korean Championships Junior 1
42.71
1
72.18
1
114.89
October 15–18, 2008 2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Great Britain Junior 14
39.82
13
66.23
13
106.05
September 10–14, 2008 2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Mexico Junior 4
46.97
3
70.45
3
117.42
2007–2008 season
Date Event Level SP FS Total
January 13–16, 2008 2008 South Korean Championships Junior 1
42.71
2
74.72
2
117.43
October 18–21, 2007 2007 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Great Britain Junior 11
42.44
13
61.45
13
103.89
September 20–22, 2007 2007 ISU Junior Grand Prix, Estonia Junior 11
37.06
10
61.71
10
98.77

References