Yanhao Li Is Carving a Path for Figure Skating in New Zealand

Yanhao Li © Pinterest

The rising skater is chasing something harder than a quad — trusting himself when it counts

Yanhao Li has never had a shortage of talent. What he’s chasing now is something quieter: the confidence to believe in himself when the pressure is on.

The New Zealand skater already has a résumé that no one from his country has matched. He became New Zealand’s first figure skater to qualify for the Winter Youth Olympic Games, taking home bronze, and a year later became the first New Zealander to win an ISU Junior Grand Prix gold medal, with a victory in Thailand.

The Real Battle Is Mental

Ask Li what’s holding him back and the answer isn’t a jump or a spin — it’s what happens in his head before either one.

He admits that a single mistake can spiral in his mind, that he sometimes fixates on scores instead of how a program actually feels, and that doubt creeps in even when his body is fully prepared. The elements themselves aren’t the problem; trusting himself to deliver them under pressure is. Closing that gap between practice and performance is what he’s spent this off-season working on.

This year, he’ll compete across both junior and senior levels, with Junior Grand Prix stops in China and Thailand. His junior goals are ambitious — a Grand Prix win and medals at the Junior Grand Prix Final and World Junior Championships. On the senior side, he’s keeping things simple for now: just reaching the free skate at Worlds.

Rebuilding the Jumps, and the Mindset

Off the ice, Li has spent the summer smoothing out his triple Axel and quad jumps, both of which gave him trouble last season. His aim isn’t just consistency — it’s ease, the kind of flow where he stops fighting himself mid-program. He’s also trying to hold every element, even in ordinary practice sessions, to the standard he’ll need as a senior skater.

Competing for a country without a deep domestic skating circuit adds its own challenge. Unlike rivals who grow up skating through sectionals and nationals, Li gets far fewer chances to compete before stepping onto bigger international stages — something he hopes more international starts will help offset.

Old Programs, New Meaning

Li is returning to both of last season’s programs rather than starting fresh. His short program to Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close stays the same, while his free skate to The Weeknd’s “Earned It” gets a refresh, swapping out one track for “Blinding Lights.” For Li, it’s less about difficulty and more about reclaiming the joy he felt when he first built the program.

He’s candid that nerves kept him from fully delivering either program last season — not because the choreography failed him, but because he was surviving the elements rather than performing them. This season, he wants the emotion of both programs to come through fully, rather than holding back out of fear of how he’ll be judged.

Looking Toward 2030

Between early mornings, school, and a second training session most afternoons, Li’s days are packed. He’s recently begun university, choosing to study Exercise Science — a decision that lets him stay close to his long-standing interest in the human body while supporting his skating career directly.

The Olympics have been a dream since childhood, but the raised minimum age for eligibility pushed his realistic target from 2026 to 2030. Rather than treating that as a setback, Li now sees the extra time as exactly what he needed to grow into a more settled, mature competitor.

His focus for the year ahead is straightforward: two clean programs at an ISU Championship, and steady progress toward the sport’s biggest stage.

“I’m not just skating for myself,” he says. “I’m carving a path for New Zealand figure skating.”

Li’s next assignment is the Junior Grand Prix in Xi’an, China, taking place August 20–22, 2026.

Source: article on goldenskate.com By Paula Slater July 25, 2026.

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By Vitalina Andrushchenko, Staff Writer