Olympian skates back into the spotlight

Figure skater Jin Boyang made his long-awaited return to competition at the 2025 ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Cup of China, finishing fifth in the men's singles event last weekend in Chongqing.

A two-time Olympian, Jin represented China at both PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, but last year, injuries forced him to step away from the ice. Now 28, he has returned with renewed focus, setting his sights on the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and preparing rigorously for another chance to compete on the Olympic stage.

Born and raised in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, Jin's love for skating began after witnessing a figure skating performance as a child. He pestered his mother for an entire year to let him take lessons before she finally relented. "I told her every day that I wanted to learn to skate," he recalls.

Recently, Jin visited Shanghai's Putuo Ice Sports Center in Putuo district, home to toptier training facilities. Watching young skaters push themselves on the ice, he was reminded of his own early days.

"When I first trained at the Heilongjiang Ice Training Center, I was full of excitement and anticipation. I couldn't even skate yet, so I held onto the boards and walked along the ice. That first experience made me so happy," he says.

His mother accompanied him from that very first step on the ice and remained a steadfast presence throughout his professional career.

Jin's training today mirrors the disciplined routines of the young skaters he observed: warm-ups, on-ice practice, post-training stretching, two ice sessions per day, and weekly physical conditioning.

But despite the rigor, he finds joy in the process. "What attracts me to figure skating is the variety of skills you need to train and the constant challenge. Even though the tasks are repeated daily, each day feels different. You have to keep adjusting yourself. The schedule may be fixed, but your state of mind and body are never the same," he explains.

"The greatest joy comes from adjusting your own state and fully immersing yourself in training."

Jin's talent was evident early. In 2013, at the age of 16, he won the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in France. "It was my first world event, and I was fearless and excited just participating. When it ended, I couldn't believe I had come first. That moment planted a seed of ambition in me and from then on, I truly felt like a professional athlete," he recalls.

Five years later, that ambition shone on the Olympic stage. At the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Jin achieved a personal best of 103.32 points in the men's short program, ranking fourth in that segment. He went on to finish fourth overall with a total score of 297.77 — the best Olympic result ever achieved by a men's singles skater from Team China. Four years later, competing on home ice at the Beijing Winter Olympics, he placed ninth.

Off the ice, Jin is reserved and introspective, but on the rink, he transforms completely. Figure skating is his stage to express himself, revealing the sport's unique ability to convey emotion and personality.

"Skating has taught me that sometimes the point when you want to give up is just a threshold. If you persist, it elevates you to the next level," he says.

With less than 100 days until Milano-Cortina 2026, Jin is meticulously refining every detail of his preparation — from on-land exercises and ice training to stretching, warm-ups and even meditation for fine control of his nervous system.

"Every detail contributes to my performance on the ice — my mindset, confidence, stability, presence and poise all come from these preparations," he says.

Jin's journey is one of resilience and dedication — a return not just to competition, but to the pursuit of excellence on the world stage.