Kim Chae-yeon of South Korea won the Four Continents figure skating competition with a near-flawless free skate to prevent an American sweep of the podium.

South Korea's Kim Chae-yeon performs during the women's free skating at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships on Sunday at the Mokdong ice rink in Seoul, South Korea.

HARBIN, China, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korean figure skater Kim Chae-yeon captured a stunning gold medal in her Asian Winter Games debut in China on Thursday, beating three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto with a clean free skate.

Reigning world figure skating champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan and her compatriot and men's national champion Yuma Kagiyama s

Kim Chae-yeon wins gold in womens figure skating at Harbin Winter Asian Games Kim Chae-yeon breaks records with stellar performance, outshining reigning champion in Winter Games.

Local favorite Kim Chae-yeon of South Korea won the Four Continents figure skating competition with a near-flawless free skate on Sunday to prevent an American sweep of the podium.

Local favourite Kim Chae-yeon of South Korea skated to gold at the ISU Four Continents championships in Seoul.

In many ways, South Korean figure skater Kim Chae-yeon is no different than many other athletes. She has bouts of self-doubt at times, worrying if she will fall to the ice on her next jump or if she will botch her next step sequence.