Cheltzie Lee has finished in 23rd place in her debut appearance at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Competing in Sofia, Bulgaria, in a field of 56 skaters, Lee started strongly, landing excellent jumps to sit in 19th position after the short program, with a score of 42.77 points.

That result put her into the group of 24 skaters for the free program.

The 14-year-old Sydney skater was not so strong in her free program, unfortunately, posting 64.12 points for 23rd position and an overall rank of 23rd with 106.85 points in total.

US skater Rachael flat led an American trifecta on the podium, scoring 172.19 points.

Speaking after the short program, Lee was a mixture of relief, excitement and disappointment.

“After my program sitting in the kiss and cry area with Kylie (Fennell, her coach) I felt relieved that I had finished the short and was half done with everything.

“I was extremely happy at first but that soon died off when I saw how I had dropped levels on a lot of things that I usually do really well.”

“The jumps felt amazing, though! Overall it was a good performance.”

Australia’s representative in the men’s competition, Matthew Precious, finished in 32nd place on 39.78 points in the short program, missing a berth in the free program.

Adam Rippon the USA won the junior men’s crown with an overall score of 199.90 points.