This was a huge accomplishment as Ihan was unable to complete his training in Australia over the close of Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink due to safety issues and not having sufficient ice time available at Sydney or the Central Coast’s other rinks.
Coach Scott Weekes said the Sydney Arrows Skater had to relocate to Korea, the birth country of his parents, in order to skill up for the event and would be doing the same thing in the lead up to the Junior World Championships in Germany in January.
“Ihan had a few tumbles in the competition but he’s definitely racing well at the moment,” Weekes said.
“Considering he has not had much competition experience for a while due to the closure of Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink, he did amazingly well and exceeded all of our expectations.
“He is so dedicated and will go extremely far in this sport.”
Weekes says that with no end in sight for the restoration or re-opening of the rink, he fears it will be difficult for ice sports to survive.
“Our athletes are doing land training at the moment but that is not viable long-term,” he said.
“It’s a very challenging time for our sport; we are still just hoping and praying for a miracle.”
