TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Eighteen-year-old figure skater Li Yu-hsiang (李宇翔) secured a spot at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics after a strong performance at a Sunday qualifying event in Beijing, China. 

In the men’s singles competition, 26 athletes competed for five Winter Olympic berths. Li originally placed eighth in the short program with a score of 70.31, just 3.25 points behind fifth-place finisher Davide Lewton Brain of Monaco, according to LTN Sports.

However, Li delivered an impressive performance in the long program, also known as the free skate, earning 146.67 points. A mistake by French skater Francois Pitot, who had been in third place, allowed Li to climb to fifth overall with a total of 216.98 points, securing his Winter Olympic qualification.

Li’s achievement is particularly notable given Taiwan’s subtropical climate and limited exposure to winter sports. Li said he hopes representing Taiwan at the Winter Olympics will inspire more people to try figure skating and mark a turning point for the sport in the country.

Li will be the first homegrown Taiwanese figure skater to compete at the Winter Olympics. Before Li, the only Taiwanese figure skater to compete at the Winter Olympics was David Liu (劉中達) in 1998, who was based in the US.