Julian to ‘figure’ prominently
JULIAN Yee is ready to skate his way into the hearts of Malaysians.
He wants to make history by winning the first ever figure skating Sea Games gold when the sport makes its debut in the 29th edition of the biennial event.
Julian is regarded as the best Southeast Asian figure skater after finishing 22nd among 36 participants at the World Championships in Helsinki earlier this month. He also bagged gold at the Malaysian National for the fourth time two weeks ago.
“I’m putting a lot of effort and work into my preparations. I want to be able to put on a good performance, especially because it will be in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.
“It’s another great way to show our fellow Malaysians that figure skating, or ice skating in general, does exist in Malaysia.”
Ranked World No 42, Julian has made the Sea Games gold medal one of his top two targets this year, with the other being to qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“I have reviewed my competition performances with my coach (Michael Hopfes), and we have pinpointed several areas to work on.
“We are hoping to get it done in time for both the Sea Games as well as the next Olympic qualifying event.”
Julian made headlines when he became the first Malaysian to qualify for the World Championships and managed to do so twice (2016 and 2017) as well as picking up the bronze medal at the Asian Figure Skating Trophy last year.
Currently under the “Kita Juara” programme, Julian will go to Germany to compete in the Nebelhorn Trophy for the final qualifiers for the 2018 Winter Olympics.