Minsol Kwon
Minsol Kwon, also credited in eastern name order as Kwon Min-sol, is a South Korean figure skater that currently represents Canada. She is the 2026 Canadian national bronze medalist.
Representing South Korea, she is a four-time ISU Junior Grand Prix medalist and the 2022 South Korean junior champion. She placed fifth at the 2023 World Junior Championships.
Personal life
Kwon was born on 18 February 2009, in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to figure skating, Kwon has also partaken in rhythmic gymnastics. Upon deciding to represent Canada, she moved to Toronto, Ontario with her mother and brother in 2024, while her father remained in South Korea.Career
Early years
Kwon began figure skating in 2014 at the age of six after being inspired by watching Yuna Kim perform at the 2014 Winter Olympics. From 2015 to 2018, Kwon was a flower girl at several international figure skating competitions in South Korea.She began competing in major domestic competitions during the 2021–22 season and won the national junior gold medal at the 2022 South Korean Championships.
2022–23 season: International junior debut
Making her international debut on the Junior Grand Prix at the 2022 JGP Czech Republic in Ostrava, Kwon skated a clean short program. In the free skate, her only error was an unclear edge call on the Lutz in her triple jump combination. She won the silver medal behind Japan's Mao Shimada. Kwon went on to win the bronze medal at her second event, the 2022 JGP Poland II, and qualify for the 2022–23 Junior Grand Prix Final. She finished fifth at the Final.Kwon finished fifth in her first appearance at the senior South Korean Championships. As a result, she was assigned to the 2023 World Junior Championships, placing sixth in the short program. She set a new personal best score of 128.24 in the free skate, finishing fifth in that segment and rising to fifth place overall. Commenting on the positive reception of her Cats program all season, she added that "I love my program, because I love animals, especially cats. Unfortunately, I don't have my own cat."
Following the season, Kwon switched coaches from Choi Hyung-kyung to Chi Hyun-jung. She spent two months of the off-season training in Canada under Lee Barkell.
2023–24 season
In late July, Kwon competed at the 2023 South Korean ISU Junior Grand Prix Qualifiers, winning the silver medal behind Shin Ji-a. Her performances earned her two assignments on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. At the 2023 JGP Austria, Kwon placed eighth in the short program after failing to execute her jump combination, but a second-place free skate lifted her to the bronze medal. At her second event, the 2023 JGP Poland, she won the silver medal.She then competed at the senior national ranking competition, where she finished fifth overall.
Kwon qualified to the Junior Grand Prix Final for the second consecutive season, where she came sixth. Saying she was happy with her performance, she said her biggest developmental focus was on improving her skating skills, as well as trying to master the triple Axel jump.
At the 2024 South Korean Championships, Kwon would place sixth.
2024–25 season
In July 2024, Kwon was noticeably absent from the 2024 South Korean ISU Junior Grand Prix Qualifiers competition and thus did not compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit. One month later, it was announced that Kwon had relocated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada to train at the Granite Club and that she had been registered to compete in the senior women's category at the 2024 Ontario Sectional Series. Regarding this, Skate Canada put out a statement saying that as of October 2024, Kwon had not yet issued a request for release from the Korea Skating Union, making her ineligible to compete 2025 Canadian Championships. She would, however, be allowed to compete in Canadian domestic competitions that were non-qualifying events. Coached by Lee Barkell, Jeffrey Buttle, and Jessica Wyant. Kwon cited that a major factor behind her decision to move and begin competing for Canada was due to wanting to better balance her skating and her studies, something she felt she was unable to do whilst training in and competing for South Korea.At the 2024 Ontario Sectional Series, Kwon won the silver medal behind Katherine Medland Spence.
2025–26 season: Official switch to Canada and Nationals bronze medal
Kwon opened the season by competing at the 2025 Ontario Sectional Series in July, August, and October, winning gold at all three events. In October of 2025, it was reported that the Korean Skating Union had released her to compete domestically for Canada, but that she was not yet eligible to represent Canada internationally.In late November, Kwon finished fourth at the 2025 Skate Canada Challenge. Going on to make her national debut for Canada, Kwon won the bronze medal at the 2026 Canadian Championships. Following the event, she said, "I’m really honoured to get a medal at the Canadian National Championships."