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Minkyu Seo (KOR) took a narrow lead as the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2025 opened in Debrecen (HUN) on Wednesday, with an exciting Men’s Short Program, which resulted in several personal best scores. With the top Men edging close in scores, the Free Skating on Friday promises to be a real battle. Seo has the chance to repeat as World Junior Champion, but his competitors are fast on his heels. 

Minkyu Seo (KOR) takes the lead during the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary © ISU

 Minkyu Seo (KOR) takes narrow lead

ISU World Junior Champion Minkyu Seo of the Republic of Korea edged out defending ISU World Junior silver medalist Rio Nakata of Japan for a narrow lead in the Short Program. Jacob Sanchez (USA) follows in third, sitting for the first time in a medal position at the ISU World Junior Championship. 

A year ago, Seo came out of nowhere to claim the first ISU Junior World title for a Korean man. Now the expectations were high, but the 16-year-old coped with the pressure and put out a beautiful performance to “Moonlight Sonata”, showing off his flow and speed over the ice and landing a triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and the triple flip. The flip is the required solo jump in the Junior Short Program. Seo scored 86.68 points, improving his personal best by six points. 

“I was not too nervous and I wanted to show wonderful skating to the audience,” Seo said at the post-event press conference. 

“I am satisfied with my performance. I want to develop my jumps, especially the quad. To come here again I feel good and I am happy I could show my skating perfectly.” 

Nakata was on fire in his Flamenco Short Program – he was crisp and hit each note of his fast paced music. The Japanese Junior Champion hit a triple Axel, triple toe-triple toe and the triple flip to score a big personal best with 86.04 points. 

Rio Nakata (JPN) at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary © ISU

“Minkyu is a very good rival for me and I am happy to compete again in this competition. I really loved the crowd and the fans and I’m very excited to skate my Free Skating,” Nakata shared. 

“I am not that good at the triple Lutz; that’s why I did a triple toe-triple toe combination,” he explained. 

Unlike the top two, Sanchez has yet to win a medal at the ISU World Junior Championships. The ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Champion took a step closer to that goal with his excellent Short Program to “Music” that included triple jumps and strong footwork. The 17-year-old earned 82.88 points. 

Jacob Sanchez (USA) performing at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Debrecen, Hungary © ISU

“I'd say this is a very big competition for me,” Sanchez said. “Last year I had placed 10th, and to see my growth and development from last year, compared to this year, I'm super excited to be back and to show my skating as the best I can.”

Shunsuke Nakamura (JPN) entertained the crowd with his Backstreet Boys program to come fourth with a personal best of 81.29 points. The podium remains within reach as well for 2024 ISU World Junior bronze medalist Adam Hagara (SVK) on 80.89 points in fifth place. Habin Choi (KOR) rounds up the top six at 77.22 points. 

What and when 

The schedule of the ISU World Junior Championships 2025 is as follows:

• Wednesday, February 26: Junior Men’s Short Program, Junior Rhythm Dance
• Thursday, February 27: Junior Women’ Short Program, Junior Free Dance
• Friday, February 28: Junior Pairs Short Program & Junior Men’s Free Skating 
• Saturday, March 1: Junior Women’s & Junior Pairs Free Skating

For more information, full entry lists and results, visit the ISU event page of the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2025 and the official event website of the Championships. Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldJuniorFigure and #FigureSkating. 

Where to watch the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2025:

The ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here. 

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