# Chen Yudong

Chen Yudong (simplified Chinese: 陈昱东; traditional Chinese: 陳昱東; pinyin: Chén Yùdōng; born 28 September 2004) is a Chinese figure skater. He is the 2020 Cup of China bronze medalist, a three-time Chinese national champion (2022–24), and a two-time Chinese junior national champion (2020, 2022).

## Personal life

Chen was born on September 28, 2004 in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, China. In addition to figure skating, he also enjoys singing and dancing.

## Career
### Early career

Chen began figure skating in 2007. His first coach was Zhang Chunling.
He debuted at the 2016 Chinese Championships, where he finished thirteenth. Chen would go on to finish fourth at nationals in 2017 and 2018.
Before debuting internationally, Chen would move to Beijing, where Li Wei became his coach.

### Junior career
#### 2018–19 season: First Junior Worlds

For the 2018–19 figure skating season, Chen was sent to California to temporarily train under Rafael Arutyunyan.
Making his international debut at the 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb, Chen won the silver medal on the junior level. He then went on to take bronze at the 2019 Russian–Chinese Youth Games.
He was ultimately assigned to the 2019 Junior World Championships where he finished in twenty-fifth place after the short program and did not advance to the free skate.

#### 2019–20 season: Junior Grand Prix debut

Chen debuted in the Junior Grand Prix circuit and was assigned to the Courchevel and Egna/Neumkart, where he finished in ninth and sixth place, respectively. He also took gold at the 2020 Chinese Junior Championships.
He was then assigned to compete at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, where he finished in sixth place.

### Senior career
#### 2020–21 season: Senior debut

With the 2020–21 figure skating season having to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, senior skaters were invited to a maximum of one Grand Prix event, based largely on geographic location. Chen was invited to the 2020 Cup of China, where he finished in third place behind Jin Boyang and Yan Han.

#### 2021–22 season: Senior international debut

Chen began the season by competing at the 2021 Asian Open Trophy, where he finished ninth.
Although assigned to compete at the 2021 Cup of China as his Grand Prix event of the season, the event was cancelled. He would ultimately be reassigned to its replacement event, the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia, where he finished in tenth place.

#### 2022–23 season

Chen, still being age-eligible for the junior grand prix circuit, was assigned to the Solidarity Cup 2022, where he finished in second place. Chen was assigned to compete in the junior and senior levels in the 2022 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy. He finished first at both levels. Having met the minimum technical score requirements, Chen was entered to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships.
After winning his first national title at the 2022 Chinese Figure Skating Championships, he went on to compete at the 2023 Four Continents Championships, where he finished fifteenth. At the 2023 World Junior Championships, he placed fourteenth after the short program, but had a strong free skate, finishing fifth in the segment and eighth overall.

#### 2023–24 season

Chen started the season by competing on the 2023–24 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, placing seventh at 2023 JGP Hungary. Going on to compete at 2023 JGP Poland, Chen placed fourth in the short program. During the free skate, Chen had a hard fall on the opening triple axel, seemingly injuring himself as he began limping after getting up. Despite this, Chen continued his free skate, making several mistakes throughout the program. He would place twenty-second in that competition segment and would drop to seventeenth place overall.
At the 2023 Chinese Junior Championships, Chen won the silver medal behind Tian Tonghe but would go on to win gold at the senior-level championships. Going on to compete on the junior level of the 2024 Chinese National Winter Games.
He would then close his season by finishing ninth at the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai.

#### 2024–25 season

In early October 2024, it was announced that Chen had left longtime coach, Li Wei and had started training under Dan Fang. He went on to start the season by finishing sixth at the 2024 Shanghai Trophy and eleventh at the 2024 Cup of China. One week later, Chen would win his third consecutive national title at the 2024 Chinese Championships.
In February, Chen competed at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, where he finished in seventh place. One week later, he placed seventeenth at the 2025 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, South Korea.

## Programs

| Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
| 2024–2025 | Lose Control by Teddy Swims choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva | Dynasties Clash by Or Chausha & Yaniv Barmeli choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne | No Man No Cry (Jimmy Sax version) by Oliver Koletzki & Jimmy Sax choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva |
| 2023–2024 | Hope by NF choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva | Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence) by Ryuichi Sakamoto The Last Emperor Where is Armo? Rain (from The Last Emperor) by Ryuichi Sakamoto choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne | No Man No Cry (Jimmy Sax version) by Oliver Koletzki & Jimmy Sax choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva |
| 2022–2023 | Yearning for Peace Swift Sword (from Hero) by Tan Dun choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne | Micmacs Du Plomb Dans La Cervelle Et Eustache Droit de Cite Ca Deroule by Raphaël Beau and Max Steiner choreo. by Elvin Wong | |
| 2021–2022 | Yearning for Peace Swift Sword (from Hero) by Tan Dun choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne | The Grand Budapest Hotel The Family Desgoffe Und Taxis Last Will and Testament Canto at Gabelmeister's Peak Moonshine by Alexandre Desplat choreo. by Shae-Lynn Bourne | |
| 2020–2021 | Canned Heat by Jamiroquai choreo. by Elvin Wong | Micmacs Du Plomb Dans La Cervelle Et Eustache Droit de Cite Ca Deroule by Raphaël Beau and Max Steiner choreo. by Elvin Wong | |
| 2019–2020 | No Man No Cry (Jimmy Sax version) by Oliver Koletzki & Jimmy Sax choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva | Tristan & Iseult by Maxime Rodriguez choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva | |
| 2018–2019 | No Man No Cry (Jimmy Sax version) by Oliver Koletzki & Jimmy Sax choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva | Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin choreo. by Nadia Kanaeva | |

## Competitive highlights

* GP – Event of the ISU Grand Prix Series
* JGP – Event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix Series
* CS – Event of the ISU Challenger Series
Competition placements at senior level :
| Season | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 |
| Four Continents Championships | | | 15th | 9th | 17th |
| Chinese Championships | | | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| GP Cup of China | 3rd | | | | 11th |
| GP Italy | | 10th | | | |
| Asian Games | | | | | 7th |
| Asian Open Trophy | | 9th | 1st | | |
| Shanghai Trophy | | | | | 6th |
Competition placements at junior level :
| Season | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 |
| Winter Youth Olympics | | | | | 6th | | |
| World Junior Championships | | | | 25th | | 8th | |
| Chinese Championships (Senior) | 13th | 4th | 4th | | | | |
| Chinese Championships (Junior) | | | | | 1st | 1st | 2nd |
| JGP France | | | | | 9th | | |
| JGP Hungary | | | | | | | 7th |
| JGP Italy | | | | | 6th | | |
| JGP Poland | | | | | | 2nd | 18th |
| Alpen Trophy | | | | 2nd | | | |
| Asian Open Trophy | | | | | 1st | 1st | |
| Golden Spin of Zagreb | | | | 2nd | | | |
| National Winter Games | | | | | | | 1st |
| Russian–Chinese Winter Youth Games | | | | 3rd | | | |

## Detailed results

ISU personal best scores in the +5/-5 GOE System :
| Segment | Type | Score | Event |
| Total | TSS | 218.66 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | TSS | 78.79 | 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia |
| Short program | TES | 44.32 | 2024 Four Continents Championships |
| Short program | PCS | 35.90 | 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia |
| Free skating | TSS | 148.08 | 2022 JGP Poland I |
| Free skating | TES | 86.47 | 2022 JGP Poland I |
| Free skating | PCS | 70.86 | 2019 JGP Italy |

### Senior level

Results in the 2015–16 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 26–27, 2015 | 2016 Chinese Championships | 11 | 52.23 | 13 | 107.40 | 13 | 159.63 |
Results in the 2016–17 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 24–25, 2016 | 2017 Chinese Championships | 4 | 57.69 | 4 | 120.81 | 4 | 178.50 |
Results in the 2017–18 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 23–24, 2017 | 2018 Chinese Championships | 2 | 67.38 | 4 | 133.89 | 4 | 201.27 |
Results in the 2020–21 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 6–8, 2020 | 2020 Cup of China | 3 | 75.74 | 3 | 150.47 | 3 | 226.21 |
Results in the 2021–22 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 13–17, 2021 | 2021 Asian Open Trophy | 7 | 66.37 | 10 | 81.98 | 9 | 148.35 |
| Nov 5–7, 2021 | 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia | 8 | 78.79 | 10 | 122.17 | 10 | 200.96 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 7–9, 2022 | 2022 Asian Open Trophy | 1 | 66.19 | 1 | 139.52 | 1 | 204.82 |
| Jan 11–13, 2023 | 2022 Chinese Championships | 2 | 68.77 | 1 | 124.23 | 1 | 193.00 |
| Feb 7–12, 2023 | 2023 Four Continents Championships | 15 | 67.93 | 16 | 116.48 | 15 | 184.41 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Dec 22–24, 2023 | 2023 Chinese Championships | 1 | 79.03 | 1 | 141.03 | 1 | 220.06 |
| Jan 30 – Feb 4, 2024 | 2024 Four Continents Championships | 9 | 78.74 | 13 | 139.92 | 9 | 218.66 |
Results in the 2024–25 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Oct 3–5, 2024 | 2024 Shanghai Trophy | 5 | 77.97 | 6 | 144.36 | 6 | 222.33 |
| Nov 22–24, 2024 | 2024 Cup of China | 8 | 77.73 | 11 | 104.87 | 11 | 182.60 |
| Nov 28 – Dec 1, 2024 | 2024 Chinese Championships | 3 | 71.94 | 1 | 155.53 | 1 | 227.47 |
| Feb 11–13, 2025 | 2025 Asian Winter Games | 7 | 67.52 | 7 | 135.80 | 7 | 203.32 |
| Feb 19–23, 2025 | 2025 Four Continents Championships | 14 | 67.45 | 18 | 116.21 | 17 | 183.66 |

### Junior level

Results in the 2018–19 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Nov 12–18, 2018 | 2018 Alpen Trophy | 1 | 63.94 | 2 | 115.26 | 2 | 179.20 |
| Dec 5–8, 2018 | 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb | 2 | 60.63 | 2 | 105.62 | 2 | 166.25 |
| Dec 14–18, 2018 | 2018 Russian–Chinese Winter Youth Games | 3 | 68.61 | 3 | 127.13 | 3 | 195.74 |
| Mar 4–10, 2019 | 2019 World Junior Championships | 25 | 60.06 | – | – | 25 | 60.06 |
Results in the 2019–20 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Aug 21–24, 2019 | 2019 JGP France | 7 | 62.79 | 9 | 112.88 | 9 | 175.67 |
| Sep 10–15, 2019 | 2020 Chinese Championships (Junior) | 1 | 66.67 | 1 | 113.52 | 1 | 180.19 |
| Oct 2–5, 2019 | 2019 JGP Italy | 9 | 64.93 | 5 | 140.23 | 6 | 205.16 |
| Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2019 | 2019 Asian Open Trophy | 1 | 58.48 | 1 | 109.31 | 1 | 167.79 |
| Jan 10–15, 2020 | 2020 Winter Youth Olympics | 10 | 57.31 | 6 | 127.29 | 6 | 184.60 |
Results in the 2022–23 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 28 – Oct 1, 2022 | 2022 JGP Poland I | 16 | 53.76 | 1 | 148.08 | 2 | 201.84 |
| Dec 7–9, 2022 | 2022 Asian Open Trophy | 1 | 65.30 | 1 | 139.52 | 1 | 204.82 |
| Dec 25–31, 2022 | 2022 Chinese Championships (Junior) | 1 | 66.60 | 1 | 124.14 | 1 | 190.74 |
| Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2023 | 2023 World Junior Championships | 14 | 65.93 | 5 | 139.19 | 8 | 205.12 |
Results in the 2023–24 season :
| Date | Event | SP | SP | FS | FS | Total | Total |
| Date | Event | P | Score | P | Score | P | Score |
| Sep 20–23, 2023 | 2023 JGP Hungary | 6 | 62.03 | 7 | 116.85 | 7 | 178.88 |
| Sep 27–30, 2023 | 2023 JGP Poland | 4 | 63.51 | 22 | 71.41 | 18 | 134.92 |
| Nov 25–26, 2023 | 2023 Chinese Championships (Junior) | 3 | 68.61 | 2 | 139.37 | 2 | 207.98 |
| Jan 18–19, 2024 | 14th Chinese National Winter Games | 1 | 68.08 | 1 | 144.90 | 1 | 212.98 |