Dai Daiwei

Early career

Dai began skating in 2010 at the age of six and a half years old, and was first coached by Denis Petrov and Chen Lu in Shenzhen. During his childhood, he also worked with former German figure skater, Constanze Paulinus, for two years, while she coached at his skating club.^[5][3][4]

Dai eventually moved to Beijing in 2018 to train under two-time World Champion pair skaters, Pang Qing and Tong Jian shortly after they opened the Pangqing Tongjian Academy.^[7][8][4]

He debuted as a junior skater at the 2020 Chinese Junior Championships, where he won the bronze medal.^[9] During the 2020–21 season, however, all Chinese national competitions were canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that Dai was unable to partake in major competitions that season.^[10]

Finally able to return to competition for the 2022–23 season, Dai made his senior national debut at the 2023 Chinese Championships, where he won the bronze medal.^[1]

In March 2023, Dai moved to Harbin to train at the Heilongjiang Winter Sports Training Center, where Jia Shuguang became his new coach.^[11]

2023–2024 season

Making his international debut at the 2023 Asian Open Trophy, Dai won the gold medal. He went on to compete at the 2023 Shanghai Trophy, where he finished sixth.^[9] Going on to debut on the 2023–24 Grand Prix circuit, Dai finished eleventh at the 2023 Cup of China.^[1]

At the 2024 Chinese Championships, Dai won the silver medal behind Chen Yudong. Selected to compete at the 2024 Four Continents in Shanghai, Dai finished twentieth.^[1]

He closed the season by winning silver at the 2024 National Winter Games.^[9]

2024–2025 season

Dai began the season by taking silver at the 2024 Asian Open Trophy. He then went on to compete at the 2024 Shanghai Trophy where he finished fifth. In late November, Dai competed at the 2024 Cup of China, where he placed seventh in both the short program and free skate, finishing in sixth-place overall,^[12] the highest rank of the three Chinese men competing at the event. While there, Dai would score personal bests in all three competition segments, including a short program over sixteen points higher than his previous best, a free skate over thirty-three points higher than his previous best, and a combined total score over fifty points higher than his previous best.^[9][13] Additionally, Dai won the silver model at the 2025 Chinese Championships (one week after the Cup of China), and set personal bests in the short program, free skate, and combined total score.^[9]

In February, Dai competed at the 2025 Asian Winter Games in Harbin, where he finished in fourth place. One week later, he placed thirteenth at the 2025 Four Continents Championships in Seoul, South Korea.^[9]

Selected to compete at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Dai finished eighteenth overall.^[9] With this placement, he earned a spot for a Chinese men's singles skater to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.^[14]

2025–2026 season

Dai opened the season by competing on the 2025–26 Grand Prix series, finishing eleventh at the 2025 Cup of China and at 2025 Skate America. In December, he finished fourth at the 2026 Chinese Championships.^[9]