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Figure skater Lee Hae-in claims 10th in return to ice after ban lifted

Published: 01 Dec. 2024, 14:00 Updated: 02 Dec. 2024, 14:28

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Figure skater Lee Hae-in competes at the Korean Figure Skating Championships in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi on Jan. 7. [YONHAP]

Figure skater Lee Hae-in finished the short program of the national squad selection contest in 10th place after scoring 60.45 points on Saturday, returning to the ice rink after an injunction was granted to pause a three-year ban issued by the Korea Skating Union over sexual harassment charges.

Lee, 19, competed in the selection contest at the rink in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, where those with the top three scores in each discipline will be eligible to compete in the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Korea in February of next year.

Lee can still a seal place in the national squad for the tournament if she earns a high enough score in the free skating program on Sunday, as the squad is chosen based on the combined results from Saturday and Sunday.

This marks Lee’s return to action after being granted an injunction to pause the three-year ban over sexual harassment charges.

Lee was handed the suspension by the Korea Skating Union in June after the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee confirmed the allegations that she sexually harassed an underage male teammate during national team training in Italy in May.

Lee sought an injunction at the Seoul Eastern District Court, which ruled last month that her actions with the male teammate were not sexual harassment, making her eligible to compete in tournaments again.

Lee won a silver medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in May 2023 and became the second Korean to medal at the tournament after skating legend Kim Yuna.

She also took a silver medal in the singles contest at the Four Continents Championships in 2022 and topped the podium in the same discipline at the 2023 competition, becoming the first Korean to do so after Kim in 2009.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]