Photo Credit: Melanie Heaney/U.S. Figure Skating
By Kristen Henneman
Josephine Lee always gets nervous before she skates. But at the 2024 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships, those nerves didn’t show once her music started. She earned the silver medal and won the free skate in the championship women’s competition to solidify her position on the World Junior Team.
Before she competes at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Taipei City, Taiwan, this week, we caught up with Lee to talk about her breakout performance, how she handles nerves and what she’s looking forward to skating in the country where her mom grew up.
You’ve had a few weeks to digest your silver medal at U.S. Championships. How does it feel now?
It’s kind of sunk in, but I’m still a little bit in denial. I’m trying to not think about it too much before Junior Worlds and just trying to stay present every day, so I think after the season is over, I’ll reflect on it more. But it definitely it gives me more confidence in my abilities. I hope to keep this momentum going into Junior Worlds.
What will be the key for you to keep that momentum?
I just want to keep my training the same and learn from each competition. So from nationals, I stayed really present and I talked a lot to my sports psychologist, and I just want to keep that consistent as well, especially leading up to Junior Worlds. … I feel like many other competitions I take it too seriously and I want it so bad that it just slips away, so I just want to have more fun at competitions.
And how do you do that?
I saw a lot of friends at nationals this time. Over the past year, I’ve made many new friends. Also, before I competed, I FaceTimed some of my friends at home, so that also made me more relaxed. And a lot of my teammates came to the U.S. Championships as well to compete – six of us from where I train – so it also felt like home and more comfortable this year.
You won the free skate. What clicked in that program for you?
I actually was really nervous before my free, especially skating after Sarah [Everhardt] because she got a standing ovation, so when I got on the ice, I saw people standing up. I heard her score, so I was really nervous and I was thinking, how am I going to skate after this? But I think I just tried to put that aside in my head and focus on what I was doing and what I have trained for. To be honest, I wasn’t as nervous for the long as I was for the short because in practice, my long is so strong I feel. So I wanted to trust my training.
This was your second year competing senior at the U.S. Championships. You’ve gained a lot of experience internationally at the junior level and this will be your second World Junior Championships. How do you handle nerves?
I do get really nervous before I compete. I like to journal sometimes, so to let all my nerves out, I write it in a book or write it on my phone, and I find that helps a lot. I do that, and I talk to my friends. I think that eases the nerves as well.
What are your goals at the World Junior Championships?
I’m trying not to think about the spots because I feel like that’s going to put more unnecessary pressure on myself. I went into nationals not expecting anything, so I’m going to try to have fun, especially because it’s in Taiwan. Obviously I have a job to do, but I’m trying not to think about placement.
What are you most excited about at Junior Worlds other than the skating?
Boba! I think I’m staying an extra week after because I’m half Taiwanese, so my goal is to drink all the flavors I can find.
So being half Taiwanese, what does that mean to get to perform there?
It’s really cool. I think I went [to Taiwan] when I was really young, but I don’t really remember. So it’s really cool seeing where my mom grew up and performing in front of my home country.
For the last question, how did you start skating and why do you love it?
When I was 4 years old, there was a rink that opened up on the way to my dad’s work, so he decided to take me. Around that time, I was also playing tennis, ballet – my mom was trying to get me into all these different sports and see which one I liked the best. Actually, I failed the first level of the Learn to Skate classes. I was pretty good at the other sports, it was more natural to me than figure skating. I was probably the first one in history to fail the first level of skating skills [laughs], but it drew me in because it was the challenge and overcoming the challenges. I got really mad and started working harder and harder, and just the feeling of accomplishment, I loved it. So I stuck with skating.
The ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships begin Wednesday in Taipei City, Taiwan. Click here for live results and watch live on the ISU YouTube page.
