Winter Olympics: Julian Yee misses final by a whisker

Reuters pic

PETALING JAYA: Figure skater Julian Yee came within a whisker of making the final of the men's singles skating competition in his first Winter Olympic Games.  

The 20-year-old Julian earned 73.58 points for his performance during the short programme on Friday (Feb 16) and was just 1.15 points away from making the top 24 at the Gangneung Ice Arena in South Korea.  

He finished in the 25th position, just one rung behind Paul Fentz of Germany (74.73).

However, Julian can be happy for having posted a personal best score.  

His previous best score for the event was 72.59 points.  

Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu took the top position with 111.68 while Spaniard Javier Fernandez came second with 107.58.  

Another Japanese, Shoma Uno, came third with 104.17 points.  

The top 24 contenders will battle for the gold in Saturday's (Feb 17) free skating final.  

Malaysia's chef de mission Datuk Mumtaz Jaafar was pleased with Julian's show of courage.

"He did the country proud by going against many seasoned participants. It was unfortunate that he missed the cut by just more than a point," said Mumtaz.  

"He has so many followers here, even the locals (Koreans) have been rooting for him.  

"It was great to note that he did his personal best - it showed his determination. We applaud Julian for putting Malaysia on the world map in his first Winter Olympic Games."