Cha Jun-hwan made South Korean figure skating history, finishing fifth in the men's singles event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with a career best score.

Following the free skating portion held at Capital Indoor Stadium on Thursday, Cha’s total score was 282-point-38, a combination of his free skating points and those earned in the earlier short program.

This Olympic performance marks a personal best, surpassing a score of 273-point-22 recorded last month at the ISU Four Continents championships.

Nathan Chen of the U.S. took gold with 332-point-six points, followed by three Japanese athletes.

Cha is the first South Korean to finish in the top five in Olympic figure skating since women's singles champion Kim Yu-na, who won gold in 2010 and silver in 2014.

The 20-year-old finished 15th at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.