Clare Seo

Clare Seo or Seo Hee-won (Hangul: 서희원; born 17 October 2006) is a Korean-American figure skater. Competing for the United States, she is the 2021 JGP France I bronze medalist and the 2022 U.S. junior national champion. She has placed within the top ten at two World Junior Championships, finishing sixth in 2022 and eighth in 2023.

Clare Seo
Personal information
Native name서희원 (Korean)
Alternative namesSeo Hee-won
Heewon Seo
Country represented United States
Former country(ies) represented South Korea
Born (2006-10-17) 17 October 2006
Claremont, California, USA
Home townColorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Height1.53 m (5 ft 0 in)
CoachTammy Gambill
Former coachKim Hye-min
ChoreographerCatarina Lindgren
Former choreographerDrew Meekins, Anna Novichkina, Dmitri Ponomarev, Lee Ho-jung
Skating clubBroadmoor Skating Club
Training locationsColorado Springs
Began skating2010
ISU personal best scores
Combined total182.81
2022 Junior Worlds
Short program63.43
2021 JGP France I
Free skate122.20
2022 Junior Worlds

Seo is also the 2020 South Korean junior national champion.

Personal life

Seo was born on 17 October 2006 in Claremont, California, to Korean parents who were studying in the United States at the time. The family returned to South Korea when Seo was five years old and remained there until 2020, after which Seo moved back to the U.S. with her mother and her younger sister, Clara.[1] As of 2022, she is a student at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[2] She intends to pursue a career in sports psychology once she retires from competitive skating.[3]

Career

Early years

Seo began learning to skate in 2010.[4] She won gold in the junior women's event at the 2020 South Korean Championships. She was the junior women's bronze medalist at the 2021 U.S. Championships.

2021–22 season: U.S. junior national champion

Seo made her junior international debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in August at the 2021 JGP France I, the first of two JGP events held in Courchevel, France. She placed first in the short program, but fell to fourth in the free skate to finish third overall behind compatriot Lindsay Thorngren and Canadian competitor Kaiya Ruiter.[5] At her second JGP assignment, the 2021 JGP Poland held in September, Seo was third in the short program and, again, fourth in the free skate to finish just off the podium in fourth overall.[6]

Seo did not compete again until January, when she won the junior national title at the 2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, besting domestic rivals Ava Ziegler, Josephine Lee, and Katie Shen. Due to her placement at junior nationals, Seo was named to the American team for the 2022 World Junior Figure Skating Championships alongside Isabeau Levito and Lindsay Thorngren, both of whom competed at the senior level at nationals.[7]

At Junior Worlds in April, Seo was 10th in the short program, but climbed to fifth in the free skate to finish sixth overall.[8]

2022–23 season

Seo opened her season back in Courchevel, France at the 2022 JGP France in late August. She placed fifth in both the short program and free skating segments of the competition, and finished fifth overall.[9] At Seo's second Grand Prix event, 2022 JGP Poland, she finished in eighth place after placing tenth in the short program and ninth in the free skate.[10]

Making her international senior debut at the 2022 CS Ice Challenge, Seo finished sixteenth in the short program after falling on two jump elements, but rebounded with a fourth-place free skate and finished eighth overall.[11] Also competing as a senior, she finished seventh at the 2023 U.S. Championships. She was assigned to the 2023 World Junior Championships in Calgary, where she placed eighth.

Programs
Season Short program Free skating Exhibition
2022–2023
[3][4][2]
2020–2022
[3][12]

Competitive highlights

CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix.

For the United States
International [13]
Event 20–21 21–22 22–23
CS Ice Challenge8th
International: Junior [13]
Junior Worlds6th8th
JGP France3rd5th
JGP Poland4th8th
National[3]
U.S. Championships3rd J1st J7th
Championship Series2nd J
USCS Nevada1st J
TBD = Assigned; WD = Withdrew; C = Cancelled
Levels: J = Junior

For South Korea
National
Event 19–20
South Korean Championships1st J
J = Junior level

References
  1. Feigenbaum, Paige (April 12, 2022). "U.S. Junior Champion Clare Seo Sets Sights on Clean Routines at World Junior Championships". U.S. Figure Skating.
  2. Martinez, Jillian L. (August 17, 2022). "Clare Seo Preparing for Senior Level". U.S. Figure Skating.
  3. "2022–23 Figure Skating Roster: Clare Seo". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on March 4, 2023.
  4. "Clare SEO: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023.
  5. "2021 JGP Gdansk Women Results". ISU. ISU. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  6. "2021 JGP Courchevel Women Results". ISU. ISU. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  7. "Junior Ladies Results". U.S. Figure Skating. U.S. Figure Skating. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  8. "2022 Junior Worlds Women Results". ISU. ISU. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  9. "2022 JGP Courchevel Women Results". ISU. ISU. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  10. "2022 JGP Gdansk Women Results". ISU Results. ISU. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  11. "2022 CS Ice Challenge". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  12. "Clare SEO: 2021/2022". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022.
  13. "Clare SEO: Competition Results". International Skating Union. August 25, 2022.
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